Sa. Bowles et al., SERUM OSTEOCALCIN, TOTAL AND BONE-SPECIFIC ALKALINE-PHOSPHATASE FOLLOWING ISOLATED TIBIAL SHAFT FRACTURE, Annals of clinical biochemistry, 33, 1996, pp. 196-200
We report the changes in osteocalcin concentrations and in total and b
one specific alkaline phosphatase activity occurring in the twenty wee
k period following tibial shaft fracture in 20 subjects. Bone formatio
n during the healing process is reflected by progressive increases in
the concentration of osteocalcin and bone specific alkaline phosphatas
e after week 5 and the latter correlated with the height and weight of
the subject. In the early post injury period, total alkaline phosphat
ase activity increased whereas that of the bone isoenzyme initially fe
ll, starting to rise again during the second week. After an immediate
post injury rise, osteocalcin concentration also decreased, reaching a
nadir by week 5. As only three of our subjects demonstrated delayed u
nion, we have not been able to demonstrate that biochemical monitoring
of the healing process can provide an indication of prognosis in tibi
al shaft fracture.