From the Popular Press: What Your Patients are Reading:

Swiss researchers believe they have developed a better way to assess which women are at a higher risk of hip fracture. Currently the gold standard of bone density testing is dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, commonly referred to as a DEXA scan. However, based on a study of more than 6000 women, researchers have found that combining the results of a heel ultrasound with known risk factors for osteoporotic fractures is a better way to assess hip fracture risk in women. Risk factors include older age, history of fracture, a recent fall, and a failed chair test. A chair test measures a patient’s ability to rise out of a chair with using the arms of the chair; the inability to do so 3 successive times constitutes a failure. In the study, 6.1% of women identified as high risk went on to suffer a hip fracture, while only 1.8% of low risk women did. Researchers believe they can both identify women who need further testing, as well as prevent unnecessary invasive testing for women who are at a low risk for hip fracture. Some bone health experts believe that this method cannot compare with DEXA, but that it can help populations without access to this advanced technology.

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