Incidental vertebral fractures on chest radiographs. Recognition, documentation, and treatment.
BACKGROUND
Recognition of incidental vertebral fractures may be an important opportunity for identifying and treating osteoporosis.


OBJECTIVE
To assess osteoporosis documentation rates in patients with vertebral fractures, and to define patient and hospitalization characteristics associated with osteoporosis management.


METHODS
Hospital and outpatient records were abstracted for patients with vertebral fractures on inpatient radiograph reports. The primary outcome of interest was discharge summary fracture documentation. Covariates associated with fracture documentation and treatment were examined with multivariate regression models. Secondary outcomes included osteoporosis documentation and management 6 months following discharge.


METHODS
Women > or =50 years hospitalized at an academic medical center.


RESULTS
Among 10,291 women with chest radiographs, 142 (1.4%) had vertebral fractures reported. Among patients with a reported fracture, 58 (41%) had their fracture noted in the findings section but not in the final impression. Only 23 (16%) discharge summaries documented a vertebral fracture. Factors associated with documentation of the fracture in the discharge summary included notation of the fracture in the impression section (odds ratio [OR] 3.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0 to 13.1), tobacco use (OR 3.7; 95% CI 1.1 to 12.2), discharge from a medical service (OR 7.6; 95% CI 0.9 to 66.2) and glucocorticoid use (OR 3.7; 95% CI 0.8 to 17.0). Only 36% of patients were using any osteoporosis medications at discharge. Fracture notation in the impression section was associated with fracture documentation in subsequent outpatient notes (OR 3.6, 95% CI 0.9 to 13.8). Discharge summary fracture documentation was associated with an increased likelihood of starting an osteoporosis medication by 6 months (OR 2.8; 95% CI 0.8 to 9.2).


CONCLUSIONS
Incidental vertebral fractures from inpatient chest radiographs may represent a missed opportunity for osteoporosis management.
Morris
Charles A
CA
Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02120, USA. camorris@partners.org
Carrino
John A
JA
Lang
Philipp
P
Solomon
Daniel H
DH