2. Introduction
Patients with metabolic bone disorders usually appear to the
orthopaedic surgeon in one of the following guises:
• A child with bone deformities (rickets)
• An elderly with a fracture of femoral neck or vertebral body
• An elderly patient with bone pain and multiple compression fractures
• A middle-aged person with hypercalcaemia and pseudogout
• Someone with multiple fractures and history of prolonged
corticosteroid treatment
3. X-ray features
Stress fractures
Vertebral fractures,
Cortical thinning
Loss of trabecular structure
Ill-defined loss of radiographic density
4. History
Failure to thrive
Below-normal growth
Deformity of the lower limbs
Back pain
Generalized muscle weakness
5. Cont’d
Patient’s sex and age
Race
Onset of menopause
Nutritional background
Level of physical activity
Previous illnesses medication and operations
Onset and duration of symptoms and their relationship to previous
disease
10. Indications for bone densitometry
Adults over the age of 50 who have experienced a low
trauma fracture
All women over the age of 65
All men over the age of 75
To assess risk of future fracture
To assess the degree and progress of bone loss
To monitor the effect of treatment for osteoporosis.
11. Biochemical tests
Serum calcium and phosphate concentrations should
be measured in the fasting state
Raised in osteomalacia and in disorders associated with
high bone turnover
12. Bone biopsy
Are obtained from the iliac crest
Examined for histological bone volume, osteoid
formation and relative distribution of formation and
resorption surfaces
16. Risk factors for osteoporosis
Age
Female
Previous fragility fracture
Current use or frequent recent use of oral or systemic
glucocorticoids
Family history of hip fracture
Low body mass index (BMI) (less than 18.5 kg/m2)
Smoking
Alcohol intake of more than 14 units per week for
women and more than 21 units per week for men
17. X-rays
Loss of trabecular definition,
Thinning of the cortices
Insufficiency fractures.
Compression fractures of the vertebral bodies
18. Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
It is an exaggerated form of the physiological bone
depletion that normally accompanies ageing and loss of
gonadal activity
19. Clinical features and investigations
Osteoporosis is asymptomatic unless fractures occur.
The fractures are classically low trauma
Fracture of the distal radius (Colles’ fracture) is usually
the first fracture
Osteoporotic vertebral fractures
Significant height loss (often exceeding 4 cm) and
thoracic kyphosis
Height loss and smaller kyphoses are most commonly
due to degenerative change.
20. Cont’d
Assessment of fracture risk
The rate of bone turnover is either normal or slightly
increased
21. Prevention
Medications to reduce fracture risk.
Primary screening for people who have not sustained
Women should be advised on lifestyle choices to
maintain healthy bones.
22. Treatment
The goal is to reduce risk of future fracture.
Medications recommended for 3–5 years, after which
ongoing treatment should be reconsidered
Bisphosphonates; taken orally
Zoledronate can be given once per year intravenously.
Denosumab subcutaneously injected every 6 months
Parathyroid hormone Preotact and Teriparatide
Selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs)
23. Cont’d
Strontium salt of ranelic acid, given as a sachet of
granules to be dissolved in water and drunk once per
day.
Operative treatment.
Analgesic treatment.
Physiotherapy
Postural training when symptoms allow.
Spinal orthoses maybe needed for support and pain
relief
Vertebral augmentation such as kyphoplasty or
vertebroplasty
24. Secondary causes of Osteoporosis
Endocrine; Hypogonadism in either sex
Treatment with aromatase inhibitors or androgen deprivation
therapy
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperparathyroidism
Hyperprolactinaemia
Cushing’s disease and Diabetes
25. Cont’d
Respiratory; Cystic fibrosis and Smoking-related lung disease
Metabolic; Homocystinuria
Chronic renal disease
Gastrointestinal; Coeliac disease, Inflammatory bowel disease,
Chronic liver disease
Rheumatological; Rheumatoid arthritis and Other inflammatory
arthropathies
Haematological; Multiple myeloma, Haemoglobinopathies and
Systemic mastocytosis
Immobility; Neurological injury and Neurological disease