Reproducibility and Accuracy of the Radiofrequency Echographic Multi-Spectrometry for Femoral Mineral Density Estimation and Discriminative Power of the Femoral Fragility Score in Patients with Primary and Disuse-Related Osteoporosis

J. Clin. Med., 2022 · DOI: 10.3390/jcm11133761 · Published: June 29, 2022

Medical Imaging Musculoskeletal Medicine

Simple Explanation

This study aimed to evaluate a new ultrasound-based technique, Radiofrequency Echographic Multi-Spectrometry (REMS), for estimating bone mineral density (BMD) in the femur. The researchers compared REMS to the current gold standard, Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), in patients with primary and disuse-related osteoporosis. The study also assessed the reproducibility and discriminative power of the REMS-derived femoral fragility score in these patients.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

175 patients with primary and disuse-related osteoporosis

Evidence Level

Cross-sectional study

Key Findings

1
REMS demonstrated excellent test-retest reproducibility for estimating femoral neck BMD, total femur BMD, and the femoral fragility score in both patient groups.
2
In patients with primary osteoporosis, there were no significant differences between DXA and REMS for estimating femoral neck and total femur BMD, but the diagnostic concordance was minimal.
3
REMS overestimated femoral BMD in patients with disuse-related osteoporosis compared to DXA, and the diagnostic concordance was poor.

Research Summary

The study investigated the reproducibility and accuracy of REMS for femoral BMD estimation and the discriminative power of the REMS-derived femoral fragility score in patients with primary and disuse-related osteoporosis. REMS showed excellent test-retest reproducibility for estimating femoral BMD and fragility score in both patient groups. However, the diagnostic concordance between DXA and REMS was minimal to poor, particularly in patients with disuse-related osteoporosis, suggesting the need for further improvements in REMS technology.

Practical Implications

Clinical Assessment

REMS can be reliably used for repeated measurements of femoral BMD and fragility score.

Diagnostic Improvement

Further research is needed to enhance the accuracy of REMS, especially for patients with disuse-related osteoporosis.

Fracture Risk Prediction

The REMS-derived fragility score could potentially be used to improve fracture risk assessment, but further studies are needed to confirm its predictive value.

Study Limitations

1
The number of patients with disuse-related osteoporosis was relatively small.
2
No direct measurements of fat and muscle size and quality were obtained.
3
Further studies are required to assess the long-term reproducibility of the REMS estimates.

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