Patients With Wrist Fractures & Osteoporosis

Patients With Wrist Fractures Less Likely to be Screened for Osteoporosis

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ARTICLE ABSTRACT

Oct 02, 2009 7:45 AM - Although osteoporosis is being evaluated and treated increasingly in elderly patients with fragility fractures, some studies suggest that physicians may be missing important screening opportunities, especially in patients with nonvertebral fractures, say authors of an article in the October issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

The Korean Health Insurance Review Agency, which covers 97% of the population, performed a study using data collected during 2007. The (1) incidences of fractures around the hip, spine, and wrist in female patients aged 50 years old and older and the (2) frequencies of bone density scans for osteoporosis and the (3) use of medications for its treatment were analyzed and compared.

The database identified 31,540 hip fractures, 58,291 spine fractures, and 61,234 wrist fractures in female patients who were more than 50 years old in Korea during 2007. Of these patients, 22.5% with a hip fracture, 28.8% with a spine fracture, and 8.7% with a wrist fracture underwent diagnostic bone density scans. Furthermore, 22.4% with a hip fracture, 30.1% with a spine fracture, and 7.5% with a wrist fracture were managed with at least one medication approved for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Despite a recent increase in the recognition of osteoporosis in patients with fragility fractures, the researchers found that patients with a wrist fracture were less likely to be evaluated and managed for osteoporosis than those with a hip or spine fracture by physicians who are responsible for treating symptomatic fractures.

Additional studies and intervention programs are necessary to improve this care gap, the researchers added.