Rationale and Objectives
In this study, we aimed to describe a more accessible and safe diagnostic tool for
osteoporosis or osteopenia diagnosis. We utilized cortical thickness (CoT) measurement
of various bones via ultrasonography and evaluated the method's accuracy relative
to bone mineral density (BMD) results determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
(DXA).
Materials and Methods
A total of 200 volunteers (all female) who agreed to participate in the study and
had undergone BMD measurement (femoral or vertebral) were included in the study. Patients
with normal BMD result (≥-1.0 T-score) were defined as controls. CoT measurements
were made from three bones (radius, tibia, and second metatarsal) for each patient
via ultrasonography.
Results
Radius CoT and tibial CoT measurements of both femoral and vertebral osteoporotic
or osteopenic patients were significantly higher compared to controls. Second metatarsal
CoT of femoral osteoporotic and osteopenic patients was also found to be significantly
higher than the control group. We found tibia CoT and radius CoT to have high sensitivity
and positive predictive value in identifying patients with abnormal femoral T-scores
(<-1). In multivariable analyzes, radius CoT was found to be independently predictive
in distinguishing patients with abnormal T-score (<-1) from controls in both the femur
and vertebral BMD groups.
Conclusion
Radius CoT and tibia CoT values appear to have value in predicting patients with abnormal
T-scores measured via DXA. This method may be a very simple technique that can be
used for early detection of osteoporosis and osteopenia, but its results need to be
supported by more comprehensive studies.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 29, 2022
Accepted:
July 24,
2022
Received in revised form:
July 21,
2022
Received:
June 14,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
