Quantitative Ultrasound in the Management of Osteoporosis: The 2007 ISCD Official Positions

Krieg, Marc-Antoine; Barkmann, Reinhart; Gonnelli, Stefano; Stewart, Alison; Bauer, Douglas C.; Del Rio Barquero, Luis; Kaufman, Jonathan J.; Lorenc, Roman; Miller, Paul D.; Olszynski, Wojciech P.; Poiana, Catalina; Schott, Anne-Marie; Lewiecki, E. Michael; Hans, Didier

doi:10.1016/j.jocd.2007.12.011

« Previous Next »Journal of Clinical Densitometry
Volume 11, Issue 1 , Pages 163-187, January 2008

Quantitative Ultrasound in the Management of Osteoporosis: The 2007 ISCD Official Positions

Marc-Antoine Krieg
- Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Task Force Chair.
- Address correspondence to: Marc-Antoine Krieg, MD, Center of Bone Diseases, Bone and Joint Department – CHUV, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Reinhart Barkmann
- Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
- Task Force Member.
Stefano Gonnelli
- University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Task Force Member.
Alison Stewart
- University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
- Task Force Member.
Douglas C. Bauer
- University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Task Force Member.
Luis Del Rio Barquero
- Cetir Centre Medic, Barcelona, Spain
- Task Force Member.
Jonathan J. Kaufman
- CyberLogic, Inc., New York, NY, USA
- Task Force Member.
Roman Lorenc
- Specjalistyczny Osrodek Medycyny Wieku, Warsaw, Poland
- Task Force Member.
Paul D. Miller
- Colorado Center for Bone Research, Lakewood, CO, USA
- Task Force Member.
Wojciech P. Olszynski
- University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Task Force Member.
Catalina Poiana
- “Carol Davila” University of Medicine & Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
- Task Force Member.
Anne-Marie Schott
- Edouard Herriot Hospital, INSERM U 403, Lyon, France
- Task Force Member.
E. Michael Lewiecki
- New Mexico Clinical Research & Osteoporosis Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Task Force Liaison.
Didier Hans
- Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
- Task Force Member.
- Task Force Liaison.

Received 5 December 2007; accepted 5 December 2007.

Abstract

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is commonly used in the care of patients for diagnostic classification of osteoporosis, low bone mass (osteopenia), or normal bone density; assessment of fracture risk; and monitoring changes in bone density over time. The development of other technologies for the evaluation of skeletal health has been associated with uncertainties regarding their applications in clinical practice. Quantitative ultrasound (QUS), a technology for measuring properties of bone at peripheral skeletal sites, is more portable and less expensive than DXA, without the use of ionizing radiation. The proliferation of QUS devices that are technologically diverse, measuring and reporting variable bone parameters in different ways, examining different skeletal sites, and having differing levels of validating data for association with DXA-measured bone density and fracture risk, has created many challenges in applying QUS for use in clinical practice. The International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) 2007 Position Development Conference (PDC) addressed clinical applications of QUS for fracture risk assessment, diagnosis of osteoporosis, treatment initiation, monitoring of treatment, and quality assurance/quality control. The ISCD Official Positions on QUS resulting from this PDC, the rationale for their establishment, and recommendations for further study are presented here.

Key Words: Diagnosis, fracture, guidelines, osteoporosis, QUS, recommendations, standards, treatment, ultrasound