Descriptive assessment of 54 cases with complex regional pain syndrome in lower limbs / Evaluación descriptiva de 54 casos con síndrome dolo roso regional complejo en miembros inferiores

Abstract Introduction: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), also known as Sudeck syndrome, is a chronic painful condition usually affecting the limbs after trauma or surgery. Its presentation is heterogeneous and its physio pathology, diagnosis and treatment remain controversial. The objective of this study was to analyze a group of patients with this rare syndrome, describing in detail the results of the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and the response to bisphosphonate treatment. Method: We retrospectively analyzed 54 patients with CRPS, taking into account their demographic features, inciting events and diagnostic tests. As regards treat ment, we analyzed the results and adverse events of the use of bisphosphonates Results: We found a female predominance (74%), with 55 ± 13 years. The most common inciting event was trauma (59%), followed by surgery. The difference in bone mineral density between the affected limb and the healthy one was 12 to 15%. Forty-four patients were treated with bisphosphonates (pamidronate, iban dronate, zoledronic acid) and showed a clinical im provement, mainly in terms of pain intensity. Only six patients presented with adverse events, like pseudoflu syndrome and acute phase symptoms. Conclusion: In our cohort, lower limbs CRPS pre dominantly affects middle aged women. DXA scans are tests used to quantify bone loss and the response to treatment. The use of bisphosphonates is an interest ing therapeutic option to improve clinical symptoms in most patients. Future prospective randomized studies will be needed to confirm our results.

Resumen Introducción: El síndrome doloroso regional complejo (SDRC), también conocido como síndrome de Sudeck, es una enfermedad dolorosa crónica que generalmente afecta a las extremidades luego de un trauma o cirugía. Su presentación es heterogénea y existen controversias sobre su fisiopatología, adecuado diagnóstico y trata miento. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir un grupo de pacientes con SDRC en miembros inferiores, describi endo los resultados de la densitometría mineral ósea (DMO) y la respuesta al tratamiento con bifosfonatos. Método: Analizamos retrospectivamente 54 pacientes con SDRC, teniendo en cuenta características demográ ficas, factores desencadenantes y estudios diagnósticos. En relación al tratamiento, analizamos los resultados y efectos adversos del uso de bifosfonatos. Resultados: Encontramos un predominio femenino (74%), con una edad de 55 ± 13 años. Los factores des encadenantes más comunes fueron los traumatismos (59%) y la cirugía. La diferencia de densidad mineral ósea entre el miembro comprometido y el sano fue 12 a 15%. En los 44 pacientes fueron tratados con bifosfona tos (pamidronato, ibandronato y ácido zoledrónico), su uso se asoció a mejoría clínica, especialmente del dolor. Seis pacientes tuvieron efectos adversos como sindrome pseudogripal y síntomas de fase aguda. Conclusión: En nuestra población, el SDRC de miem bros inferiores predomina en mujeres de edad media. La DMO es un método que permite cuantificar la pérdida ósea y la respuesta al tratamiento. Los bifosfonatos son una buena opción terapéutica para el control de síntomas. Son necesarios futuros estudios de naturaleza prospectiva y aleatorizada para confirmar nuestros resultados.

Study of serum vitamin D2 and calcium in young and middle aged healthy male smokers in rural tertiary care center

Background: Smoking is an essential determinant of various diseases. The study is aimed to understand the influence of smoking on serum vitamin D2/D3 levels and serum calcium levels in healthy young/middle-aged men.Methods: Prospective observational study was done among young and middle-aged healthy male smokers in a rural territory care center. Two hundred patients were studied and analyzed, who fulfill the inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D <20 ng/ml) was 50.3%. Only 8.8% of the participants had vitamin D sufficiency (25 hydroxyvitamin D ?30 ng/ml). There is a strong correlation between 25(OH)D and smoking in the participants (p<0.001). 25 hydroxyvitamin D level was lower by approximately 4.3 ng/ml (p<0.001) in a smoker compared to a non-smoker among the total participants, this value increased to 9.2 ng/ml in the 40-50y subgroup (p=0.003). A multinomial logistic regression model demonstrated that a young smoker (20-29y) had a 58% increased likelihood of having vitamin D deficiency compared to a non-smoker of the same age group (p=0.041). Irrespective of age and chronicity of smoking, there was a significantly increased level of serum calcium and significant vitamin D2/D3 deficiency in smokers.Conclusion: A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was identified in young and middle-aged male smokers, which is not likely to be explained by other confounding lifestyle factors. The depression of the vitamin D-PTH system seen among smokers may represent another potential mechanism for the harmful effects of smoking on the skeleton

Prevalencia de osteoporosis: discrepancia de acuerdo a las áreas esqueléticas de medición / Prevalence of osteoporosis: discrepancy according to the skeletal areas of evaluation

Existe discrepancia en la elección de las áreas esqueléticas a evaluar para determinar la prevalencia de osteoporosis (OP). La International Society for Clinical Densitometry sugiere evaluar la columna lumbar (CL) y el fémur proximal (FT), mientras que la International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) sugiere medir solo el cuello femoral (CF). La estimación de la prevalencia de OP evaluada solo por CF en mujeres mayores de 50 años de Buenos Aires mostró un sub-diagnóstico del 53%. Objetivo: analizar la discrepancia en la prevalencia de OP, según el área esquelética evaluada por DXA, en los estudios internacionales disponibles. Materiales y Métodos: Se incluyeron los trabajos publicados en la literatura internacional, en idioma inglés que contenían: 1. Medición simultánea de CL y CF. 2. Análisis por décadas a partir de los 50 años y hasta por lo menos la década 70-79. 3. Diagnóstico densitométrico de osteoporosis con el criterio de la OMS: T-score ≤-2.5. Resultados: fueron incluidos doce estudios. La evaluación de estos estudios arrojó un sub-diagnóstico global del 52 % si la prevalencia de OP fuera estimada solo por la densidad mineral ósea (DMO) de CF. Cuando analizamos por décadas la sub-estimación fue del 75% en la 6a década, 58% en la 7a década y del 22% en 8a década, mostrando claramente que el subdiagnóstico disminuye a medida que aumenta la edad y desaparece después de los 80 años. Conclusión: Estos resultados señalan que la prevalencia de OP debe ser determinada a través de la evaluación de la DMO de ambas áreas esqueléticas: CL y CF. (AU)

There is discrepancy in the election of skeletal areas to be measured to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis.The International Society for Clinical Densitometry suggests evaluating the lumbar spine and proximal femur, while the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) suggests measuring only the femoral neck.The estimate of the prevalence of osteoporosis (OP) evaluated only for femoral neck (FN) in women over 50 years of Buenos Aires showed underdiagnosis of 53%. Objective: To analyze the discrepancy on the prevalence of OP, according to the skeletal area evaluated by DXA, in international studies. Material and Methods: We included the works published in the international English literature that contained: 1- Simultaneous measurement of lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN). 2- Analysis for decades from 50 years and up to at least the decade 70-79. 3- Densitometric diagnosis of osteoporosis according to WHO: T-score ≤-2.5. Results: Twelve studies were included. The evaluation of these studies showed an overall underdiagnosis of 52% if the prevalence of OP was estimated only for bone mineral density of the femoral neck.When we analyzed for decades the underestimation was 75% in the sixth decade, 58% in the seventh and 22% in the eighth decade, clearly showing that the underdiagnosis decreases as age increases and disappears after 80 years. Conclusion: This over-all review of 12 studies indicates that lumbar spine as well as femoral neck should be assessed by DXA to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis. (AU)

Influence of obesity on bone mineral density in postmenopausal asthma patients undergoing treatment with inhaled corticosteroids

OBJECTIVES: The etiology of osteoporosis in asthma is complex as various factors contribute to its pathogenesis. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of obesity and inhaled steroids, as well as the severity and duration of asthma, on osteoporosis in postmenopausal asthma patients as compared to healthy controls. METHODS: A total of 46 patients with asthma and 60 healthy female controls, all postmenopausal, were enrolled in our study. Bone mineral density was assessed at the lumbar spine and hip using a Lunar DPX-L densitometer. RESULTS: Bone mineral density (BMD) scores were comparable between the asthmatic and control groups, with average scores of 0.95 ± 0.29 and 0.88 ± 0.14 g/cm², respectively. Likewise, osteoporosis was diagnosed in a similar percentage of patients in the asthmatic (39.1 percent) and control (43.3 percent) groups. Bone fracture was identified in four patients with asthma (8.6 percent) and in six patients from the control group (10 percent). We could not detect any relationship between BMD and duration of asthma, asthma severity, inhaled steroids or body mass index (BMI). There was no difference between the two groups with respect to age or years since menopause. Although asthma patients were more likely to be overweight and presented higher BMD scores on average than the control subjects, these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: There is a slight positive protective effect of high BMI against osteoporosis in asthma patients, but this effect is overcome by time and menopause status. Therefore, the protective effect of obesity against osteoporosis in asthma patients seems to not be significant.

Influência dos níveis de densitometria mineral óssea na perda óssea alveolar e parâmetros clínicos periodontais em mulheres na pós-menopausa / Influence of the bone mineral densitometry's levels in the alveolar bone loss and periodontal clinical parameters in the post menopausal women

Objetivo: Verificar a relação da influência do nível de densitometria mineral óssea (DOM) na perda óssea alveolar e parâmetros clínicos periodontais em mulheres na pósmenopausa. Métodos: Em um estudo seccional, foram avaliadas 23 mulheres na menopausa, com idade variando de 44-61 anos de idade. Densitometria óssea mineral da coluna lombar e do fêmur foram obtidas pela técnica DEXA. Foram incluídos exame clínico (profundidade a sondagem, perda de inserção, profundidade a sondagem e o número de ausência dental) e radiográfico para determinar a gravidade da doença periodontal. Os dados foram comparados pelo teste t Student e correlacionados pelo teste de Pearson (r). Resultados: Das 23 mulheres, duas eram osteoporóticas, 14 osteopênicas e 7 em condi- ção de normalidade. Para as comparações dos parâmetros clínicos periodontais com o perfil da DOM não foram encontradas diferenças significativas em nenhuma das análises. O coeficiente de correlação de Pearson foi fraco e negativo quando comparada a DOM com os parâmetros periodontais. Conclusão: No presente estudo não foi encontrada uma associação entre as modificações estruturais ósseas com os parâmetros periodontais (AU)

Objective: To correlate levels of bone mineral densitometry (BMD) and periodontal clinical parameters, including radiographic alveolar bone loss in postmenopausal women. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 23 postmenopausal women. Their ages ranged from 44 to 61 years-old. BMD of the lumbar vertebra and femur were obtained through the DEXA technique. Periodontal clinical examination (probing depth, clinical attachment level and number of missing teeth) and periapical radiographs were obtained to determine the severity of periodontal disease. The data obtained was analyzed using both student t test and Pearson correlation. Results: BMD revealed that 2 participants were osteoporotic, 14 were osteopenic, and 7 were healthy. Comparisons between periodontal clinical and radiographic parameters and BMD profile, among the distinct groups, showed no statistically significant differences. The coefficient for Pearson correlation was weak and negative when comparing BMD with all periodontal parameters. Conclusion: This study showed no association between bone structural modifications and clinical and radiographic periodontal parameters (AU)

Recomendaciones para el manejo de la osteoporosis

En la actualidad la osteoporosis se considera solamente como un riesgo de fractura y por lo tanto se debe analizar en compañía de otros riesgos para decidir la conveniencia del tratamiento. Es más importante considerar la calidad ósea que confiere la resistencia, en la que la densidad ósea es uno de los varios componentes junto con la microarquitectura, la matriz y el recambio óseo. El tratamiento de la osteoporosis se hace en forma individual, considerando la edad y el antecedente de fractura, para así seleccionar varios recursos que se pueden agrupar en antiresortivos y anabólicos. Entre los primeros están los estrógenos, los bisfosfonatos y los moduladores selectivos del receptor de estrógenos como los principales; los anabólicos aún se encuentran en estudio y el más adelantado es la parathormona sintética. La administración de calcio y vitamina D no es suficiente para el tratamiento de la osteoporosis. El principal problema del tratamiento, que ha provocado una baja adherencia es el costo de los medicamentos y la falta de información sobre la necesidad de que el tratamiento sea a muy largo plazo.

Osteoporosis has to be considered only as a risk factor for bone fractures and its measurement by the bone mass index has some limitations. The aim of treatment of osteoporosis is to reduce the frequency of fractures (especially at the vertebral and the hip) which are responsible for morbidity and mortality with the osteoporosis. It has been demonstrated that antiresorptive drugs (bisphosphonates, estrogens, raloxifen) as well as anabolic agents (synthetic parathormone) are useful for preventing fractures. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation is not sufficient to treat persons with osteoporosis. Choice of treatment depends of age, the presence or absence of prevalent fractures, and the degree of bone mineral density measured at the spine and hip. The main inconvenient for the adherence of treatment is the high cost of the medicaments and agents as well as the poor information given to the patients.

Comparison of Bone Scan with Bone Mineral Densitometry as Assessment of Response to Hormonal Therapy in Metastatic Prostatic Cancer / 대한비뇨기과학회지

Patient with osseous metastatic prostatic cancer can clinically be detected by bone scanning, which usually is sensitive and qualitative but is not specific and quantitative. For quantitative evaluation of skeletal lesions, we measured bone mineral density (BMD) in whole body, total spine and lumbar spine. All patients also were assessed with bone radiography, radionuclide bone scan, prostate specific antigen (PSA), and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP). We compared mainly bone scan and BMD in monitoring tumor response between before hormonal treatment and 6 month after hormonal treatment. Fifteen patients with stage D2 prostate cancer and 25 controls were entered in this study. Of 8 patients whose scan showed response in 12 patients with metastatic lumbar spine lesion, they had either 7 responded or 1 unchanged BMD level in the lumbar spine. Of 9 patients whose scan showed response in 15 patients with metastatic total spine lesion, they had either 6 responded or 3 unchanged BMD level in the total spine. The alterations of BMD levels in total spine and lumbar spine closely correlated with the therapeutic responses assessed by the National Prostatic Cancer Project Criteria of bone scintigraphy in patients with prostatic cancer (spine: r=0.04, p<0.05; lumbar: r=0.1, p<0.05). In contrast, BMD changes in whole body (response rate: 20.0%, P<0.05) was less than that in total spin (response rate: 53.3%, P<0.01) and lumbar spine (response rate: 58.3%, P<0.01). In conclusion, when compare BMD to the hot spot region in bone scan, BMD may be helpful to the urologist for the accuracy of the staging and evaluation of the treatment response to androgen deprivation therapy in metastatic prostate cancer.

Diagnostic Value of the Bone Mineral Densitometry in the Metastatic Prostatic Cancer / 대한비뇨기과학회지

The bone scan in patients with prostate cancer remains to be the most sensitive method to assess the bone metastasis. But it is nonspecific and shows similar finding in either benign or malignant disease. Bone mineral densitometry allows for the quantification of total body bone mass. So we evaluated the efficacy of the measurement of the bone mineral density with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in patients with prostate cancer who had showed hot spot on the bone scan. Of the 15 patients 7 cases( 47% ) showed increased bone mineral density. To evaluate the efficacy of bone mineral densitometry, we analyze the 11 patients whose bone scan show hot spot on lumbar spine. Among them 2 cases( 18%) show osteoblastic finding on the bone x-ray, but 5 cases(45%) show increased density and 2 cases show decreased density on the bone mineral densitometry. These results show that the bone mineral densitometry is more valuable than bone x-ray in the detection of abnormal bone density. Therefore we suggest that bone mineral densitometry can be used as a helpful method of bone scan to detect the metastatic bone lesion in the advanced prostatic cancer.