Abstract
Purpose
Vertebral fractures (VFs) are the hallmark of osteoporosis and are responsible for almost 70,000 hospital admissions yearly, implying social costs and impaired quality of life for patients. In recent years, several techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, have been proposed for VF diagnosis, but a gold standard is not yet available and the visual semiquantitative (VSQ) assessment proposed by Genant remains the most validated. However, given the lack of a standardised method, in clinical practice, the diagnosis of VF is often missed, and patients are not correctly assessed. The aim of our study was to estimate the percentage of VFs not detected in clinical practice in italian population using the VSQ method and a new morphometric technique.
Materials and methods
In 283 postmenopausal women referred to our clinic for osteoporosis screening, we performed a clinical examination, plain spinal radiographs (for VSQ assessment) and digital computerised morphometry (DCM) to assess VFs. Bone density was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
Results
Forty-seven percent of patients had a T score <−2.5 standard deviations (SD), and 35.2% were osteopenic, but no significant correlations between T score and grade or number of fractures were found. DCM identified VFs in 38.5% of patients versus 32.5% using the VSQ method. Overall, 280 VFs were detected by DCM and 236 by VSQ, whereas only 105 were recognised by the reports.
Conclusions
VFs went undetected in 55.5% according to the VSQ method on standard spinal radiographs. Therefore, the morphometric technique may be helpful when performed with the semiquantitative approach to improve recognition of VFs. However, other studies are needed to further validate the utility of this new morphometric technique in clinical practice.
Riassunto
Obiettivo
Le fratture vertebrali (FV) rappresentano il segno caratteristico dell’osteoporosi e sono responsabili di circa 70000 ricoveri ospedalieri ogni anno, con notevoli implicazioni per quel che concerne i costi sociali e la scadente qualità di vita dei pazienti. Negli ultimi anni diverse tecniche, sia qualitative che quantitative, sono state proposte per la diagnosi di FV, ma allo stato attuale non è ancora disponibile una metodica considerata gold standard e la valutazione visiva semiquantitativa (VSQ) proposta da Genant, resta la più validata. Comunque, data l’assenza di una metodica standardizzata, nella pratica clinica quotidiana le FV sono spesso misconosciute e quindi i pazienti non sono correttamente valutati.
Materiali e metodi
Scopo del nostro studio è stato quello di valutare la percentuale di FV non diagnosticate nella pratica clinica in una popolazione italiana, usando il metodo VSQ e una nuova tecnica morfometrica. Per la valutazione delle FV, in 283 donne in età postmenopausale giunte alla nostra osservazione per lo screening dell’osteoporosi, abbiamo effettuato: l’esame clinico, i radiogrammi tradizionali del rachide (per il metodo VSQ) e la morfometria digitale computerizzata (MDC). La densità ossea è stata misurata utilizzando l’apparecchiatura dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
Risultati
Il 47% dei pazienti presentava un T score<−2,5 deviazioni standard (DS) ed il 35,2% presentava una condizione osteopenica, tuttavia non è stata riscontrata alcuna correlazione significativa tra il T score e il grado o numero di fratture riscontrate. La MDC ha identificato le FV nel 38,5% dei pazienti rispetto al 32,5% del metodo VSQ. Complessivamente, la MDC ha identificato 280 FV, 236 sono state diagnosticate mediante approccio VSQ, mentre soltanto 105 FV sono state riportate nei referti.
Conclusioni
Le FV sono state sottostimate nel 55,5% dei casi in accordo con il metodo VSQ effettuato sui radiogrammi standard del rachide. Pertanto, la tecnica morfometrica rappresenta una metodica valida, complementare all’approccio semiquantitativo, al fine di migliorare il riconoscimento delle FV. Sono comunque necessari ulteriori studi per validare maggiormente l’utilità di questa nuova tecnica morfometrica nella pratica clinica.
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Difede, G., Scalzo, G., Bucchieri, S. et al. Underreported vertebral fractures in an Italian population: comparison of plain radiographs vs quantitative measurements. Radiol med 115, 1101–1110 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-010-0554-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-010-0554-8