Alvilde Dhainaut

Prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in an unselected, mixed connective tissue disease cohort: results of a nationwide, Norwegian cross-sectional multicentre study and review of current literature

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the overall prevalence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in an unselected MCTD cohort and review the current knowledge with a systematic database search. METHODS A nationwide multicentre cohort of 147 adult MCTD patients were initially screened for PH by echocardiography, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), pulmonary function tests and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and then followed up for a mean of 5.6 years. Right-sided heart catheterization was performed when estimated pulmonary artery systolic pressure was >40 mmHg on echocardiography. PH was diagnosed according to the 2009 European Society of Cardiology and European Respiratory Society guidelines. RESULTS At inclusion, 2.0% (3/147) had established PH. Two additional PH patients were identified during follow-up, giving a total PH frequency in the cohort of 3.4% (5/147). All five had elevated serum NT-proBNP. Two had isolated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and three PH associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD). Three PH patients died during follow-up. Nine other patients in the cohort also died, but none of them had echocardiographic signs of PH prior to death. CONCLUSION The data from the current unselected MCTD cohort suggest that the prevalence of PH is much lower than expected from previous studies but confirm the seriousness of the disease complication.

Short-Time In Vitro and In Vivo Precision of Direct Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry

Digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) calculates peripheral bone mineral density (BMD) from hand radiographs. The aim of this study was to examine in vitro and in vivo precision for the new direct digital version of DXR, a development of the conventional DXR. The in vitro precision for direct DXR was tested on 4 different X-ray equipment, based on 31 radiographs of the same phantom. The in vivo precision was based on duplicate hand radiographs from both hands in 39 individuals. For the 4 X-ray equipment, in vitro precision ranged from 0.14% to 0.30%, expressed as coefficient of variations (CV%) and from 0.0012 to 0.0028 g/cm2, expressed as smallest detectable difference (SDD). The precision was correlated to the resolution of the radiographic equipment (r=0.95, p=0.05). The corresponding values for the in vivo precision for mean values of both hands were: CV%=0.46%; SDD=0.0046 g/cm2, and least significant change (LSC%)=1.28%. The DXR-BMD for 1 of the X-ray equipment differed 1.1% from the overall mean. The precision for direct DXR was highly satisfactory both in vitro and in vivo. DXR-BMD values may differ between the radiographic equipment, and follow-up measurements should be performed with the same X-ray equipment.

The Ability of Hand Digital X-Ray Radiogrammetry to Identify Middle-Aged and Elderly Women With Reduced Bone Density, as Assessed by Femoral Neck Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

In this study, we evaluate the ability of digitized digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) bone mineral density (BMD) to identify women with reduced BMD at femoral neck, assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The study population contained women with recent low-energy distal radius fracture and women recruited from the general population, all aged 50 yr or older. The correlation between hand BMD and femoral neck BMD was r=0.65 (p<0.001). We used a triage approach where 2 cutoffs for DXR T-score were defined at which patients with 90% sensitivity and 90% specificity could be identified to have or not have reduced BMD at femoral neck, defined as T-score ≤-2.5 standard deviation (SD). The upper and lower DXR T-score cutoffs were -1.2 and -2.7, respectively. Applying the triage approach in the whole cohort, 32% would require a central DXA assessment to determine the presence or absence of femoral neck T-score ≤-2.5 SD. Our data suggest that DXR can be used to reduce the numbers of patients in need of DXA femoral neck and may, thus, be of clinical value where access to DXA is limited.

Cortical hand bone porosity and its association with distal radius fracture in middle aged and elderly women.

Objective Reduced bone mineral density (BMD), assessed by Dual Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), is a well-known risk factor for fragility fracture. A large proportion of patients with fracture have only slightly reduced BMD. Assessment of other bone structure features than BMD may improve identification of individuals at increased fracture risk. Digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR), which is a feasible tool for measurement of metacarpal cortical bone density, also gives an estimate of cortical bone porosity. Our primary aim was to explore the association between cortical porosity in the hand assessed by DXR and distal radius fracture. Methods This case-control study included 123 women >50 years with distal radius fracture, and 170 controls. DXR was used to measure metacarpal BMD (DXR-BMD), cortical porosity (DXR-porosity), thickness (DXR-CT) and bone width (DXR-W) of the hand. Femoral neck BMD was measured by DXA. Results The fracture group had a statistically significant lower DXR-BMD (0.492 vs. 0.524 g/cm2 p<0.001), higher cortical DXR-porosity (0.01256 vs. 0.01093, p<0.001), less DXR-CT (0.148 vs. 0.161cm, p<0.001) and lower femoral neck DXA-BMD (0.789 vs. 0.844 g/cm2, p = 0.001) than the controls. In logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, a significant association with distal radius fracture (OR, 95% CI) was found for body mass index (0.930, 0.880–0.983), DXA-BMD (0.996, 0.995–0.999), DXR-BMD (0.990, 0.985–0.998), DXR-porosity (1.468, 1.278–1.687) and DXR-CT (0.997, 0.996–0.999). In an adjusted model, DXR-porosity remained the only variable associated with distal radius fracture (1.415, 1.194–1.677). Conclusion DXR derived porosity is associated with fracture at distal radius and might be a sensitive marker for skeletal fragility.

Phalangeal Densitometry Compared With Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry for Assessment of Bone Mineral Density in Elderly Women

BACKGROUND Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) is identified as a major risk factor for fracture. The World Health Organization criterion for diagnosis of osteoporosis (T-score ≤-2.5 SD) is based on dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements. However DXA availability may be limited in some regions. In this study the ability of the phalangeal radiographic absorptiometry (RA) device, MetriScan, to identify women with reduced BMD at the femoral neck assessed by DXA was evaluated. METHODS The study population contained women with recent low-energy distal radius fracture and women recruited from the general population, all aged ≥50 years. A triage approach was applied in which two cut-offs for RA T-score were defined at which individuals with 90% sensitivity and 90% specificity could be identified to have or not have reduced BMD at the femoral neck defined as T-score ≤-2.5 SD. RESULTS The correlation between phalangeal RA BMD and femoral neck DXA BMD was r=0.65 (p<0.001). The upper and lower RA T-score cut-off was -1.5 SD and -2.9 SD. With the triage approach being used for the whole cohort, 34% would require a central DXA assessment to determine if the femoral neck T-score is below or above -2.5 SD. CONCLUSION The application of the RA MetriScan device can reduce the number of DXA assessments needed to detect reduced BMD. The device may thus be of clinical value if access to DXA is limited, as well as for screening purposes.

Identification of inflammation sites in arthritic joints using hyperspectral imaging

Inflammatory arthritic diseases have prevalence between 2 and 3% and may lead to joint destruction and deformation resulting in a loss of function. Patient’s quality of life is often severely affected as the disease attacks hands and finger joints. Pathology involved in arthritis includes angiogenesis, hyper-vascularization, hyper-metabolism and relative hypoxia. We have employed hyperspectral imaging to study the hemodynamics of affected- and non-affected joints and tissue. Two hyperspectral, push-broom cameras were used (VNIR-1600, SWIR-320i, Norsk Elektro Optikk AS, Norway). Optical spectra (400nm – 1700nm) of high spectral resolution were collected from 15 patients with visible symptoms of arthritic rheumatic diseases in at least one joint. The control group consisted of 10 healthy individuals. Concentrations of dominant chromophores were calculated based on analytical calculations of light transport in tissue. Image processing was used to analyze hyperspectral data and retrieve information, e.g. blood concentration and tissue oxygenation maps. The obtained results indicate that hyperspectral imaging can be used to quantify changes within affected joints and surrounding tissue. Further improvement of this method will have positive impact on diagnosis of arthritic joints at an early stage. Moreover it will enable development of fast, noninvasive and noncontact diagnostic tool of arthritic joints

Bone mineral density in patients with psoriatic arthritis: data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 3

Background The risk of osteoporosis in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in patients with PsA and controls. Patients and methods Patients with PsA and controls were recruited from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) 3. Results Patients with PsA (n=69) and controls (n=11 703) were comparable in terms of age (56.8 vs 55.3 years, p=0.32), gender distribution (females 65.2% vs 64.3%, p=0.87) and postmenopausal status (75.6% vs 62.8%, p=0.08). Body mass index (BMI) was higher in patients with PsA compared with controls (28.5 vs 27.2 kg/m2, p=0.01). After adjusting for potential confounding factors (including BMI), BMD was higher in patients with PsA compared with controls at lumbar spine 1–4 (1.213 vs 1.147 g/cm2, p=0.003) and femoral neck (0.960 vs 0.926 g/cm2, p=0.02), but not at total hip (1.013 vs 0.982 g/cm2, p=0.11). Controls had significantly higher odds of having osteopenia or osteoporosis based on measurements of BMD in both the femoral neck (p=0.001), total hip (p=0.033) and lumbar spine (p=0.033). Conclusion Our population-based data showed comparable BMD in patients with PsA and controls. This supports that the PsA population is not at increased risk of osteoporosis.

Technologies for assessment of bone reflecting bone strength and bone mineral density in elderly women: an update

Reduced bone mineral density is a strong risk factor for fracture. The WHOs definition of osteoporosis is based on bone mineral density measurements assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry. Several on other techniques than dual x-ray absorptiometry have been developed for quantitative assessment of bone, for example, quantitative ultrasound and digital x-ray radiogrammetry. Some of these techniques may also capture other bone properties than bone mass that contribute to bone strength, for example, bone porosity and microarchitecture. In this article we give an update on technologies which are available for evaluation primarily of bone mass and bone density, but also describe methods which currently are validated or are under development for quantitative assessment of other bone properties.

OP0039 Increased porosity in hand bones is strongly associated with distal radius fracture in elderly women

Background Distal radius fracture (fx) is one of the most common osteoporotic fx. Osteoporosis defined as T-score ≤-2.5 SD at spine and/or hip assessed by Dual Energy X-ray (DXA) has been identified as an independent risk factor for distal radius fx [1]. However, a large proportion of fragility distal radius fx occur in patients (∼68%) with T-score > -2.5 [2]. Assessment of bone structure e.g. cortical porosity may improve identification of individuals at high risk of fx [3]. Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry (DXR) used for quantitative measurement of metacarpal cortical hand bone mineral density (BMD) has been shown to predict distal radius fx [4]. This method also provides a quantitative measure of porosity. Objectives To explore the association between increased cortical hand porosity assessed by DXR and risk of distal radius fx in elderly women. Methods In this prospective case control study, women with distal radius fx (>50 years) were consecutively recruited from a community hospital. Age-matched controls were randomly identified in the national registry for the same catchment area and invited by mail. A hand radiograph from the non-dominant arm was used for DXR assessment and measurements included: BMD, porosity, cortical thickness and bone width. BMD at lumbar spine (L2-4) and femoral neck was measured by DXA. Statistical tests were applied using SPSS. Results No significant difference was observed between the 114 distal radius fx patients and the 156 controls for age (67.7 vs 67.2 years, p=0.7), height (164.9 vs 163.8cm, p=0.1) or weight (68.9 vs 71.5 kg, p=0.1) nor for smoking, exercise, use of vitamin-D, bisphosphonates, estrogen or glucocorticoids. BMD was significantly reduced in fx patients compared with controls both in femoral neck (0.793 vs 0.838 g/cm2, p=0.005) and spine (1.031 vs 1.099 g/cm2, p=0.003) and for DXR hand (0.495 vs 0.522, p=0.003). For the individual components from which DXR BMD is calculated, a significant difference was seen for porosity (0.0124 vs 0.0109, p<0.001) and cortical thickness (0.149 vs 0.160, p=0.002), but not for bone width (0.822 vs 0.811, p=0.055). In univariate regression analysis, expressed as odds ratio (OR), a reduction in the following variables were found to be significantly associated with a distal radius fx: DXR BMD (OR 1.005 per mg, p=0.004), DXA BMD (femoral neck OR 1.003 per mg, p=0.006, spine OR 1.002 per mg, p=0.004) and cortical thickness (OR 1.013 per mm, p=0.002), whereas an increase in porosity was found to be associated with an increased risk of distal radius fx (OR 7.3 per % point increase, p<0.000). In a multivariate regression model including variables with p<0.2 in the univariate analysis, (DXR BMD and cortical thickness exluded due to linearity) porosity remained significantly associated with distal radius fx (OR 10.08 per % point increase, p=0.001). Conclusions Our results suggest cortical bone porosity, a measure of bone structure, to play a major role in increasing distal fracture risk in elderly women. References Oyen et al. Osteoporosis Int 2010 Oyen et al. Osteoporosis Int 2009 Zebaze et al. Lancet 2010 Bouxein et al. Osteoporosis Int 2002 Disclosure of Interest None Declared