Study finds vertebral fractures are underreported

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Study finds vertebral fractures are underreported

University of Alberta

March-28-2004

Released to the Public Date: 03-08-2004

Reference: This news item was obtained with permission from EurekAlert!

A team of doctors and researchers at the University of Alberta has

discovered

that vertebral fractures often go undiagnosed or unreported when elderly

patients get chest x-rays to check for other health problems. The

researchers hope

the results of their study will lead physicians to check more carefully for

osteoporosis related vertebral fractures in the future. The research results

have been published in the American Journal of Roentgenology. " Osteoporosis

is

so much a part of aging that the signs of it, such as vertebral fractures,

are

often ignored, and this study proves that, " said Dr. Sumit Majumdar, a

professor of general internal medicine at the U of A and lead author of the

study.

" We want to educate patients and primary care physicians to be aware of this

and

work to improve the situation. "

The study entailed doctors revisiting 100 random chest x-rays of patients 60

or older, who received the x-rays for symptoms related to the chest and not

for back pain. The doctors found that 22 of these patients had vertebral

fractures, and that 10 of these 22 cases--45 per cent--were not mentioned in

the

official radiology reports.

Vertebral fractures are commonly asymptomatic; that is, a person who has

such

a fracture doesn't feel pain from it and doesn't realize they have a

problem,

said Dr. Kim, a radiology resident in the U of A Department of

Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging and another author of the study.

The study is significant, Kim added, because vertebral fractures are often

indicators of osteoporosis, a common disease among the elderly that weakens

bones but is easily treated with drugs.

" Elderly patients get chest x-rays for thousands of reasons, everything from

pneumonia to any number of heart conditions, " added Dr. Rowe, a

professor of emergency medicine and another author of the study. " If doctors

could

take a moment to also check these x-rays for vertebral fractures it might

really

help the patient down the road. "

" Our health care system is really good at diagnosing and treating acute

problems, but it's not so great at providing preventative care, " Kim said.

" There

is a focus on dealing with the acute problems that lead patients to seek

help

and less emphasis on treating chronic health problems, such as

osteoporosis. "

" A patient often won't know they have osteoporosis until they fall and break

a hip, " she added. " This study is a first step to show doctors that they can

help us to treat osteoporosis better by taking a closer look at routine

chest

x-rays. "

" Patients should know this and make sure their doctors take that extra

step, "

Majumdar added.

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