ls ultrasound of bone relevant for corticosteroid—treated patients?

OLIVERI BEATRIZ; DI GERGORIO S; PARISI MS; SOLIS F; MAUTALEN C

JOINT BONE SPINE

Elsevier

Año: 2002 vol. 70 p. 46 - 51

1297-319X

Abstract Corticosteroid treatment diminishes bone mass and alters bone quality. Objective: to evaluate bone in corticosteroid-treated patients and controls and in lractured and non-fractured patients treated with corticosteroids using both X—ray densitometry {DEXA) and ultrasound. We evaluated 34 women aged 58 i 14 years (X 1 SD), who had been on long—terrn low dose prednisone therapy for at least 6 months, and who had never received specihc treatment for osteoporosis. Bone mineral density of total skeleton (TS), lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and vertebral morphometry (MX A) were measured by DEXA. Speed of sound (SOS), broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and Stiffness were measured using an Achilles Plus system. Forty—two healthy women served as controls. Both densitontetric and ultrasound parameters in the patients were signihcantly diminished compared with controls: TS: P < 0.002, LS: P < 0.025, FS: P < 0.005, Stiffness: P < 0.001, BUA: P < 0.002 and SOS: P < 0.002. The percentage of patients with a Z score below -2 was higher in Stiffness and BUA: 38% and 47%, respectively, compared with a range of 16-24% in the other parameters (P < 0,05 BUA vs. DEXA measurements). Eleven patients with previous bone fracture had values lower than the non-fractured patients, both according to DEXA and ultrasound measurements, but the difference was only signihcant for BUA (P < 0.02). BUA of the calcaneus was more effective in detecting the specihc skeletal alterations and traeture risk of the group of patients receiving chronic corticosteroid treatment. © 2002 Editions scientihques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved