Improvement of Quality of Life after Surgical Treatment of Patients with MRONJ: A Prospective Analysis Using the SF-12 and OHIP-14 Questionnaires.

Background: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a rare, serious, and debilitating disease of unknown cause that can be associated with significant health-related quality of life (HRQOL) impairment. Hematological disease is characterized by a nonhealing exposed jawbone in patients with a history of antiresorptive or antiangiogenic agent use without radiation exposure to the head or neck. . This prospective study over the period from May 2020 to December 2021 included a representative sample consisting of 27 patients with at least stage 2 MRONJ lesions who underwent surgical rehabilitation via oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany. Quality of life data were collected over a 6-month postoperative period using the Health-Related QOL (SF-12) and Oral Health-Related QOL (OHIP-14) questionnaires.

Results: A total of 27 patients considered in the study had a total of 42 MRONJ lesions, corresponding to a mean of 1.56 necroses per patient. MRONJ lesions were downstaged in 85% of the patients. HRQOL was evaluated with the SF-12 questionnaire. Significant improvements were found in six of the eight categories (General Health (  < 0.001), Bodily Pain ( < 0.001), Mental Health ( < 0.001), Vitality (  < 0.001), Role-Emotional (=0.028), and Social Functioning (=0.031)). The OHRQOL score also improved significantly after surgical intervention ( < 0.001).

Conclusion: With completed surgical therapy, improvements in HRQOL and OHRQOL are measurable.