Purpose: Define the effectiveness of teriparatide (TPTD) treatment on reducing the incidence of new vertebral compression fractures (NVCFs) and back pain and improving quality of life after percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP).
Methods: Two years of clinical follow-up data from primary osteoporotic women who had experienced initial osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) and received PKP plus 12-month TPTD (n=113) or basic treatment (BT) of calcium and vitamin D supplements (n=208) were retrospectively collected. The risk of NVCFs over each 6-month period in the TPTD group was evaluated and compared with the BT group using a logistic regression. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL, EQ-5D questionnaire), back pain [100 mm visual analog scale (VAS)] and bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine were analyzed using linear mixed models for repeated measures (LMMRM).
Results: Logistic regression analysis adjusting for baseline characteristics showed that patients in the TPTD group had a lower risk of NVCFs compared with those receiving BT during the final three observation intervals (6–12 months, OR=0.189, 95% CI=0.030–0.681, p =0.046; 12–18 months, OR=0.009, 95% CI=0.0001–0.111, p =0.001; 18–24 months, OR=0.024, 95% CI=0.0009–0.264, p =0.009, respectively). Significant improvements in adjusted EQ-5D and back pain VAS scores were identified in the TPTD group compared with the BT group, and this improvement was sustained for at least 12 months after teriparatide treatment was discontinued (both p <0.001). The BMD of the spine also showed a higher T-value in the TPTD group compared with the BT group (p <0.001).
Conclusion: In routine clinical practice, for patients with OVCFs who receive the PKP procedure, TPTD treatment may be a preferable subsequent therapy because of its ability to reduce the incidence of NVCFs and sustain a high quality of life and back pain alleviation.
Keywords: teriparatide, osteoporosis vertebral fractures, quality of life, back pain, PKP