title: Assessment of skeletal status by quantitative ultrasound at the hand phalanges in children with bronchial asthma--a pilot study.
abstract: The aim of the study was to assess the skeletal status by quantitative ultrasound measurement at hand phalanges in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids. Sixty-nine (69) children with a mean age of 10.9 ± 2.6 y and 251 controls matched for age and body size were enrolled into the study. The mean value of amplitude-dependent speed of sound in asthmatic children was 1953.8 ± 60.2 m/s and the mean Z-score was -0.05 ± 1.02; the corresponding values in the controls were 1951.0 ± 53.9 m/s and -0.26 ± 1.05, respectively. The results did not differ between the asthmatic and the healthy (control) children. A cumulative dose of inhaled steroids was identified in a stepwise regression analysis as a factor with potentially negative influence on bone status. In conclusion, the skeletal status in asthmatic children, assessed by quantitative ultrasound, shows no difference in comparison with healthy children. Nonetheless, special caution is necessary in case of long-term corticosteroid therapy, in which a slightly negative influence of treatment on the skeleton cannot be excluded.
authors.affiliation: Department and Clinic of Pediatrics in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland. adamczyk@konto.pl
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adamczyk
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pluskiewicz
authors.forename: Zenon
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Halaba
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nowakowski
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Madaj
authors.forename: Bogna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Drozdzowska
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D049628:Body Size; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D050278:Finger Phalanges / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids