Abstract
BACKGROUND: Quality of life research with respect to patient reported outcomes (PROs) other than pain has not yet been conducted in the field of Diffuse Sclerosing Osteomyelitis. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate changes in quality of life regarding 34 subjective parameters in patients with diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis after intravenous Ibandronic acid administration (6mg). MATERIAL AND METHODS: 15 patients (11 female, 4 male) with diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis (DSO) treated with 6mg of Ibandronic acid completed the standardized questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-H&N35, OHIP-G 14) considering quality of life before and two weeks after infusion. RESULTS: All 15 patients reported a significantly improved quality of life after administration of Ibandronate. Patients reported improvements in oral health associated quality of life as well as reduction of pain and intake of analgesics. In addition patients reported a significant improvement in fatigue, sexuality, social interactions, emotional, cognitive and role functioning. Furthermore patients reported an improvement in mouth opening, weight loss and loss of appetite as well as a reduction of speech and swallowing problems. Moreover, insomnia occurred less frequently after bisphosphonate infusions. CONCLUSIONS: The study evaluates patients subjectively benefit from a standardized Ibandronic acid regimen. A significantly improved quality of life after administration of Ibandronate was observed in all 15 patients.