Patients with MRI-proved acute painful vertebral fractures in whom conservative
pain management fails are frequently referred for
vertebroplasty. This study investigated the effects of treating
osteoporosis on the mortality rate of patients with MRI-proved acute
osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures who had undergone
vertebroplasty. We retrospectively reviewed the cases of
osteoporosis patients with MRI-proved acute vertebral fractures who had been treated with
vertebroplasty from January 2001 to December 2007. The long-term outcomes of the patients who received antiosteoporotic
therapy were compared with those of patients who received no
therapy. A total of 304 patients (247 female patients and 57 male patients; mean age, 74.1 ± 7.7 years) were enrolled in the study. The patients who received antiosteoporotic
therapy had a significantly lower mortality rate than did patients who did not receive antiosteoporotic
therapy (P = 0.001; hazard ratio, 0.396, 95 % confidence interval, 0.273-0.575). At the end of the study, 183 patients were alive, and 121 had died. Effective treatment for
osteoporosis may improve survival in patients with
osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures after
vertebroplasty.