Bone Densitometry and Clinical Decision-Making in Osteoporosis
Excerpt
During the last 6 years the development of methods that measure bone mineral density accurately at important sites of fracture represents a real advance in care of patients with osteoporosis, a disease costing $7 to $10 billion annually in the United States (1). The bone mineral density of the axial skeleton, formerly only crudely estimated from roentgenograms can now be measured with a precision of 2% to 3% by dual photon absorptiometry for the vertebrae or proximal femur (2) and of 3% to 5% by quantitative computed tomography for the vertebrae (3). Precision is defined as (standard deviation of replicate
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Acknowledgments
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors thank the following persons for their contributions to the planning and writing of this editorial: C. H. Chesnut III, MD.; Hunter Heath III, MD.; R. Lindsay, MB., Ph.D.; L. J. Melton III, M.D.; C. C. Johnston, M.D.; and W. A. Peck, M.D. All of them have read the editorial and agree with its recommendations.
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