THU421 Utility Of Forearm DXA As A Tool For Identification Of Osteoporosis: A Cleveland Clinic Experience

Disclosure: A.F. Ishola: None. K. Alsibai: None. A. Iqbal: None. A. Elsherif: None. P. Rao: None. L.Z. Khan: None. Background: Osteoporosis is a preventable and treatable condition with a significant impact on the quality of life. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 10.2 million Americans have osteoporosis. In addition, more than 2 million osteoporosis-related fractures occur annually in the US and >70% of these occur in women. Unfortunately, most individuals at risk do not undergo appropriate assessment or treatment. Clinically osteoporosis may be diagnosed if there is a fragility fracture, independent of bone mineral density (BMD) T-score value. Diagnosis based on BMD can also be made with a T-score of − 2.5 or below in the lumbar spine, femoral neck, total proximal femur, or distal 1/3 radius. Due to the limitations in interpreting BMD values in patients with degenerative joint disease (DJD), using the forearm (distal 33% radius) as an alternative skeletal site could serve as a more sensitive screening test. Our study primary aims were to assess the frequency at which females age ≥ 65 undergoing BMD testing had DJD of the spine, to determine the frequency at which BMD testing of the forearm was performed in patients with DJD of the spine, and to assess skeletal site-specific rates of osteoporosis. Methods: This is a large, single-center, retrospective, IRB- approved study conducted at Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Postmenopausal female patients above the age of 65 who underwent DXA scans between January 2018 and December 2019 were identified. Manual chart reviews were performed. Patients receiving osteoporosis treatment and those with hyperparathyroidism were excluded. Results: 195 patients were eligible for the study. The mean age was 73.4 ± 8.2 years. DJD of spine and osteoarthritis were present in 74.5% and 58.2% of patients respectively. Forearm BMD testing was only performed in 18.9% of patients with DJD of the spine. Osteoporosis was diagnosed in 39.1 % at the femoral neck, 35.4% of patients at the lumbar spine, 9.3 % at the distal 1/3 radius, and 6.8% at the total hip. Conclusion: DJD of the spine and hip osteoarthritis often lead to falsely elevated T-scores resulting in under-diagnosis and under-treatment of osteoporosis. Although there is a higher sensitivity of using forearm BMD values to diagnose osteoporosis in patients with DJD of spine and/or osteoporosis, our preliminary data show that the forearm DXA scan is an under-utilized clinical tool in cases of DJD of spine, osteoarthritis, and hip replacement. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023