Treatment with intravenous pamidronate is a good alternative in case of gastrointestinal side effects or contraindications for oral bisphosphonates

BACKGROUND: In case of contraindications or intolerance during treatment with oral bisphosphonates (OB), administration of pamidronate intravenously is a widely used alternative. In this study we compared the effect on change in bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine and hip during long term treatment with pamidronate iv in comparison to OB. METHODS: We studied 61 patients receiving treatment for at least two years. In case of contraindications or intolerance (within 3 months) of an OB, pamidronate iv was started. BMD was measured on a Hologic 4500 and a Lunar DPX-IQ at the spine (L1-L4) and total hip. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients were enrolled in the OB group and 30 in the intravenous pamidronate group. Mean follow-up duration (SD) was 4.3 (1.3) years. We observed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in spinal BMD, both in the OB group (8.3%) as well as in the pamidronate iv group (6.1%), but no significant difference in BMD change between the OB and pamidronate iv groups. At the hips, we observed a tendency to increased BMD in both groups, 1.1% in the OB and 1.4% in the pamidronate iv group. CONCLUSION: We conclude that intravenous pamidronate is a good alternative for oral bisphosphonates in the treatment of osteoporosis in patients with contraindications or intolerance during treatment with oral bisphosphonates.