Utilization of Quantitative Ultrasound Methods for Bone Mass Density Measurement in General Population - An Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION

Although osteoporosis can be diagnosed by many methods like quantitative ultrasound (QUS), peripheral dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), hand X-rays, or clinical examinations but the diseases remain undertreated mainly due to a lack of mechanism to identify individuals who may be at high risk of fracture and might get benefit from the timey interventions. The availability of central DEXA is not uniform in many countries; hence, a reliable, cheap, portable handy equipment is needed. Role of QUS as an alternative to DEXA has been studied for selective population but a very few studies have attempted its utility in the general population for routine use.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The cross-sectional observational study was done with 283 patients with age more than 40 years with both sexes. Any patient with a history of trauma, infection, surgical infection or immobilization of the lower limb for more than 6 weeks in the preceding 1 year. The left calcaneum was used for calculating T-score by QUS by utilizing 500 kHz ultrasonic frequency for the ultrasound pulse penetration method.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study population was 51.4 ± 10.54 years with 188 female and 95 males. The prevalence of osteopenia was slightly higher among the female population (68.6%) in the current study group in comparison to males (54.7%). The age and symptoms of osteopenia were the two variables which significantly determined the predictive power of QUS in diagnosing osteopenia.

CONCLUSION

The use of calcaneum QUS proved to be a rapid and efficient method for assessing bone mass density, demonstrating its ability to detect osteopenia, especially in older and symptomatic patients. Given its cost-effectiveness, portability, and safety due to the absence of ionizing radiation, QUS serves as a valuable and attractive alternative for initial bone health assessment, particularly in settings with limited access to central DEXA.