Evaluation of the variables changes in quantitative ultrasound measurement on osteoporosis-related fracture

Rukun SU; Xingmo LIU; Yinghui DENG

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Fracture is the main clinical manifestation of osteoporosis. Thus, a safe, feasible and low cost bone mineral density(BMD) measurement can help to prevent the osteoporosis-related fracture and other osteoporosis-related complications in clinical practices.

OBJECTIVE:

Quantitative ultrasound(QUS) measurement systems have been employed to evaluate bone status in middle-aged and aged females for better diagnoses and the prevention of osteoporosis-related fracture.

DESIGN:

Case controlled trial based on patients and healthy individuals.

SETTING:

The study was conducted at the orthopedic department of a municipal hospital.

PARTICIPANTS:

The study was conducted in the Orthopedic Department of the Sixth People' s Hospital of Guangzhou from February to September in 2002. Seventy-four middle-aged and aged female patients, diagnosed with fracture, entered the study procedure. A control group of 218 age-matched postmenopausal women was recruited for comparison. The patients in the control group were divided into 5 subgroups 41 - 50 years old, 51 -60 years old; 61 - 70 years old; ＞ 80 years old. Both the patients and the healthy controls were divided into several groups according to their ages. Then each of them was measured by QUS, and the results were analyzed and compared among all the groups.MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

The broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and the speed of sound(SOS) of all the patients and the healthy women in this study.

RESULTS:

BUA values of over 61 years old patient groups equaled to (58.2 ± 6. 8), (54.2 ± 4.8) and(47.8 ± 3.5) dB/MHz respectively. The values were significantly different from those of the control group( P ＜ 0. 01 ).The SOS values of the over-51-year-old patient groups were( 1489.6 ± 24. 3),(1486.6 ± 17.7), (1483.7 ± 18.4) and(1442.7 ± 18.3) m/s respectively. They were also significantly different from those of the control group( P＜ 0.01).

CONCLUSION:

QUS measurement system not only can be used to obtain quantitative data of the bones but also can be used to evaluate the bone structure. It has various advantages such as no radiation, low cost and easiness of operation. It is a valuable method that can greatly contribute to early prediction, early diagnosis and timely treatment of osteoporosis-related fracture.