Our results reveal several important findings. Firstly, of the cohort of hip fracture patients, a significant proportion (over a fifth) had undergone previous imaging that included the spine. Of these patients, 41% had a detectable VFF. Taken together, these findings indicate a potential opportunity for detecting incidental vertebral fractures at an early stage.
Secondly, our data demonstrate that VFFs are significantly underreported by radiologists, particularly by non-musculoskeletal radiologists. Only 46% of visible vertebral fractures were recorded in the written report by the reporting radiologist at the time. However, the majority of fractures were recorded in reports by musculoskeletal radiologists. Non-musculoskeletal radiologists were less likely to identify vertebral fractures, particularly those of a lower Genant grade. On spinal X-rays, where the primary aim of imaging is to identify bony deformities, all fractures were reported. This suggests that it is not the detection of VFFs that presents a challenge to the radiologist, but lack of awareness of the need to look specifically for them. Vigilance for vertebral fractures should be increased in a population such as this where mean age is over 80 and therefore a high incidence of vertebral fractures should be anticipated [17].
Under-reporting of vertebral fractures by radiologists has been identified previously in several studies. Gehlbach et al. investigated the reporting of VFFs on lateral chest radiographs and found that only 52% of radiology reports contained notation of the presence of a vertebral fracture in the narrative of the report [18]. Vertebral fractures have also been shown to be under-reported on CT scans of the abdomen and/or pelvis [19] and MRI scans of the breast [20].
We also show that VFFs are more likely to be reported if there are multiple fractures, or if the fracture is more severe. This suggests that fractures causing obvious deformity to the spine are more likely to be commented on. However, in many cases, the spine may not be studied in sufficient detail to identify milder, less obvious fractures.
Only 25% of patients with vertebral fractures were reported to be receiving bone protection treatment at the time of their hip fracture. There are several reasons why patients with vertebral fractures may not go on to receive treatment for osteoporosis. Firstly, as we have demonstrated, vertebral fractures are often not reported by the radiologist, and at-risk patients are therefore not identified. Secondly, there may not be a robust system in place to ensure that patients who are discovered to have an osteoporotic fracture are referred for further follow-up and treatment. This is supported by a recent review of fracture liaison services globally which demonstrated that few hospitals have such a system of linking serendipitous vertebral fracture case finding for fracture liaison services [21]. Currently in our Trust, it is the responsibility of the general practitioner to follow up on the fracture and initiate further investigations and treatment. If the imaging was carried out for a complaint unrelated to the spine, treating the incidental finding of a vertebral fracture may not be prioritised or pursued. The county’s fracture liaison service is therefore currently unaware of a significant number of treatable cases of osteoporosis. To address this, we intend to introduce a system whereby patients with a vertebral fracture identified on a radiological report are directly referred to the local Fracture Prevention Service. A specialist fracture prevention nurse will automatically receive a list of all the vertebral fracture patients identified each month and will arrange follow-up investigations or treatment. Patients with a newly diagnosed VFF can then be easily identified from radiological reports and referred for appropriate follow-up and management.
Our study has some limitations. The retrospective nature of the study introduces an observer bias. We did not collect data on patients’ primary diagnosis or the indication for their imaging. We therefore cannot comment as to whether in studies with significant intra-thoracic or intra-abdominal findings, VFF were more likely to be overlooked. It is not always straight-forward differentiating fracture from deformity and the following factors are considered by the radiologist when making the distinction: presence of endplate abnormalities, loss of vertebral disc height and appearance in comparison to adjacent vertebrae. Even with a standardised method such as the Genant semi-quantitative technique, there is a room for subjectivity in the interpretation of imaging, particularly for grade 1 fractures. Finally, we had limited data on patients’ contraindications to osteoporosis medication. We therefore cannot comment on the number of cases where bone protection could not be commenced as a result of contraindications to therapy such as drug hypersensitivity, mechanical problems of the oesophagus (such as oesophageal stricture, dysmotility or achalasia) or those with severe renal dysfunction. Finally, we could not identify cross sectional imaging performed by hospitals outside the catchment of our NHS Trust.