Imaging Innovations Predict Fractures Among Aging Patients

Bone fractures are increasingly common among aging populations. Not only is rehabilitation and healing a strenuous and long process, but pain management can result in its own complications and stress. Fortunately, a new study from the University of Wisconsin suggests routine CT scans might be able to determine if a patient is at risk for an osteopathic fracture. This discovery could prompt aging patients to take conscientious measures for preventing falls.  

"CT scans are commonly performed in older adults for a wide variety of reasons. The rich bone data embedded in these scans is often ignored, but can and should be harnessed for opportunistic screening for fracture risk," said lead study author Perry J Pickhardt, MD, a professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health.

The researchers evaluated a group of 507 participants who had an average age of 73.4 years and had undergone chest and/or abdominal CT scans. They found that individuals who demonstrated a trabecular attenuation “of the first lumbar vertebra below a certain threshold” indicated a higher likelihood that they would be susceptible to fracture.

"There was a significant difference in fracture-free survival in patients with an L1 attenuation of ≤ 90 HU compared with patients with L1 attenuation above this threshold (P < .001), wrote the authors. “To our knowledge, this is the first study in a well-defined consecutive cohort with long-term follow-up that has demonstrated the potential value of using L1 attenuation to predict future fragility fracture risk at multiple sites in a manner similar to DXA.”