Quantitative heel ultrasonography, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and urine amino-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen in patients with a recent hip fracture.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined quantitative heel ultrasonography (QUS), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels, and urine amino-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX-I) levels in patients with a recent osteoporotic hip fracture to see whether they were clinically useful.


METHODS
Stiffness index (SI) T scores from QUS, 25-OHD levels, and urine NTX-I levels were obtained in 53 female and 32 male patients with hip fractures. Sixty-five female patients and 5 male patients attending our geriatric clinic were used for comparison.


RESULTS
The SI T scores of the hip fracture patients were less than those of the geriatric clinic patients. The difference was significant in female patients (P= .0001) but not in male patients (P= .1). Serum levels of 25-OHD were less than 28 ng/mL in 50 of 59 patients and less than 5 ng/mL in 2 patients. Levels of urine NTX-I were variable and were not correlated with other parameters.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients who have had a hip fracture have a low SI determined by QUS; this is easy to perform, and it provides a baseline T score from which to assess treatment effects. Most of these patients are vitamin D deficient, and measurement of the 25-OHD level would enable physicians to prescribe an appropriate dose of vitamin D. Urine NTX-I measured shortly after a hip fracture is not clinically helpful.
Colt
Edward
E
St Luke's Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University, New York, New York, USA. ecolt@chpnet.org
Gorich
George
G
Quinnan
Stephen
S
Raj
Ramona
R
Thornton
John
J
Matti
Brenda
B
Pierson
Richard
R
Quinlan
Eileen
E
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000652:urine*; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005264:Femoral Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006365:Heel / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006620:Hip Fractures; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000652:urine*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood
D024042:Collagen Type I; D010455:Peptides; C052929:collagen type I trimeric cross-linked peptide; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D