Quantitative radiographic assessment of bone atrophy in patients with chronic back pain

AbstractIn order to treat osteoporotic patients adequately, it is necessary to understand the osteal condition of each patient. In the present study, we compared two bone assessment methods in patients at different stages of osteoporosis. Fifty-one patients with chronic back pain and osteoporosis were subdivided according to a clinical staging criterion. Two bone analysis methods, digital image processing (DIP) and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), were utilized to measure the bone masses of the patients. Bone mineral densities (BMDs) obtained by DXA and metacarpal bone mineral densities (m-BMDs) obtained by DIP decreased according to the stages of osteoporosis. However, among the advanced patients with vertebral crush fractures, no significant differences were observed in BMDs and m-BMDs. In contrast, metacarpal indices (MCIs) measured by DIP decreased significantly even in advanced patients with such fractures. In advanced cases of osteoporosis, MCIs measured by DIP were more useful than BMDs. Bon...