title: Assessment of bone health in children with disabilities.
abstract: Evaluating the bone health of children with disabilities is challenging and requires consideration of many factors in clinical decision-making. Feeding problems and growth deficits, immobility/inability to bear weight, effect of medications, and the nature of his or her disease can all directly affect a child's overall picture of bone health. Familiarity with the tools available to assess bone health is important for practitioners. The most commonly used method to assess bone density, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, can be performed effectively when one appreciates the techniques that make scanning patients with disabilities possible. There are specific techniques that are especially useful for measuring bone density in children with disabilities; standard body sites are not always obtainable. Consideration of clinical condition and treatment must be considered when interpreting dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scans. Serial measurements have been shown to be effective in monitoring change in bone content and in providing information on which to base decisions regarding medical treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Research, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, USA Department of Medical Imaging, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Heidi H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kecskemethy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, USA Department of Radiology, Jefferson College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: H Theodore
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Harcke
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001846:Bone Development / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002648:Child; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D006801:Humans
keywords: Bone mineral density; DXA; disability; lateral distal femur