Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography in Children and Adolescents: The 2007 ISCD Pediatric Official Positions

Zemel, Babette; Bass, Shona; Binkley, Teresa; Ducher, Gaele; Macdonald, Heather; McKay, Heather; Moyer-Mileur, Laurie; Shepherd, John; Specker, Bonny; Ward, Kate; Hans, Didier

doi:10.1016/j.jocd.2007.12.006

« Previous Next »Journal of Clinical Densitometry
Volume 11, Issue 1 , Pages 59-74, January 2008

Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography in Children and Adolescents: The 2007 ISCD Pediatric Official Positions

Babette Zemel
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Address correspondence to: Babette Zemel, PhD, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3535 Market Street, Room 1560, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4399, USA.
- Task Force Chair.
Shona Bass
- Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
- Task Force Member.
Teresa Binkley
- South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, USA
- Task Force Member.
Gaele Ducher
- Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
- Task Force Member.
Heather Macdonald
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Task Force Member.
Heather McKay
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Task Force Member.
Laurie Moyer-Mileur
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Task Force Member.
John Shepherd
- University of California at San Francisco, CA, USA
- Task Force Member.
Bonny Specker
- South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, USA
- Task Force Member.
Kate Ward
- University of Manchester Imaging Science & Biomedical Engineering, Manchester, UK
- Task Force Member.
Didier Hans
- Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
- Task Force Liaison.

Received 5 December 2007; accepted 5 December 2007.

Abstract

Peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) has mainly been used as a research tool in children. To evaluate the clinical utility of pQCT and formulate recommendations for its use in children, the International Society of Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) convened a task force to review the literature and propose areas of consensus and future research. The types of pQCT technology available, the clinical application of pQCT for bone health assessment in children, the important elements to be included in a pQCT report, and quality control monitoring techniques were evaluated. The review revealed a lack of standardization of pQCT techniques, and a paucity of data regarding differences between pQCT manufacturers, models and software versions and their impact in pediatric assessment. Measurement sites varied across studies. Adequate reference data, a critical element for interpretation of pQCT results, were entirely lacking, although some comparative data on healthy children were available. The elements of the pQCT clinical report and quality control procedures are similar to those recommended for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Future research is needed to establish evidence-based criteria for the selection of the measurement site, scan acquisition and analysis parameters, and outcome measures. Reference data that sufficiently characterize the normal range of variability in the population also need to be established.

Key Words: Bone mineral density, children, peripheral quantitative computed tomography