BROAD-BAND ULTRASOUND ATTENUATION IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF OSTEOPOROSIS - CORRELATION WITH OSTEODENSITOMETRY AND FRACTURE

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of broadband ultrasound attenuatio n in the prediction of osteoporosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Broadband ultrasound attenuation measurements of the calcaneus and dual x-ray ab sorptiometry (DXA) measurements of the lumbar spine and the femoral ne ck were obtained in 400 patients (295 female and 105 male), 135 of who m were classified as having osteoporosis. Correlation coefficients bet ween broadband ultrasound attenuation and DXA were calculated. RESULTS : Patients with osteoporosis showed a statistically significant decrea se in broadband ultrasound attenuation compared with healthy patients (59.7 dB/MHz +/- 1.3 [standard deviation] vs 75.1 dB/MHz +/- 0.8). Bro adband ultrasound attenuation correlated statistically significantly w ith vertebral bone density (r = .49) and femoral neck density (r = .52 ). At a broadband ultrasound attenuation index of 64 dB/MHz, the sensi tivity and specificity were both 85% for patients with osteoporotic fr actures. CONCLUSION: Broadband ultrasound attenuation can be used to h elp differentiate between patients with osteoporosis and healthy patie nts and seems to be useful in the prediction of fracture risk.