Hopkins TJ, Eggington S, Quinn M, et al. - The present study was undertaken to investigate the cost-effectiveness of surgical treatment vs. conservative medical management (CMM), expanding on prior modeling by accounting for quality-adjusted life-years gained. Researchers developed a Markov microsimulation model of 1,000 patients to estimate separate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) and vertebroplasty (VP) in inpatient and outpatient surgical treatment locations to account for individual clinical profiles presenting to each. The model results imply interventional treatment is cost-effective, among patients eligible for surgery, at a US willingness-to-pay threshold, while VP and BKP are more expensive treatment options than CMM in the short term. This data supports those from economic analyses performed in EU-member countries.