SCREENING FOR OSTEOPOROSIS - WHAT IS THE ROLE OF HEEL ULTRASOUND

Could focused population screening detect osteoporosis earlier and imp rove the management of this major health care problem? Quantitative ul trasound of the calcaneus is currently being proposed as a suitable sc reening technique. Correlations between quantitative ultrasound of the calcaneus and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry of bone mineral densit y of the spine and proximal femur are not high enough to reliably pred ict bone mineral density at the lumbar spine or proximal femur from th e ultrasound results. Some ongoing longitudinal studies suggest that q uantitative ultrasound may none the less detect individuals at increas ed risk of fracture, but ifs use for mass screening for osteoporosis w ould be premature.