Physician Evaluation

Don't wait for a fracture to diagnose osteoporosis

Approximately 50 percent of women over 50 have osteoporosis and are at risk of an osteoporosis-related fracture. A woman's risk of hip fracture alone is equal to the combined risk of developing breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers. Up to 20 percent of victims who suffer hip fractures die within one year of the fracture.

Bone densitometry gives you and your patients an accurate picture of the risk of future fracture.

Essential information for accurate diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment

Bone mass cannot be accurately deduced from related clinical information, such as inherited and lifestyle risk factors or spinal X-rays. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) can accurately measure bone density.

Important reasons to consider bone-density measurement

• To help diagnose osteoporosis
• To arrive at an estimate of the risk of future fracture and monitor the effects of therapy on bone density
• To assess the possible effect of gluco-corticoid therapy on bone density
• To assess the possible effect of hyperthyroidism on bone density
• To assess the need for surgery in patients with asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism

Bone-density testing provides an accurate picture of the risk of future fracture

We provide bone densitometry for your patients with a DEXA system. Our fully trained staff maintains careful quality control to ensure system integrity, and standardized procedures are followed to assure reliable, reproducible results.

Testing is safe, fast, noninvasive, and painless for your patients. Spine or hip measurements take approximately two to five minutes. We send a patient report to you promptly. The results include an image of the tested area, bone mineral density measurements, and comparisons to peak bone-mass measurements in a young population of the same gender and race.

One of the most important uses of bone densitometry is that by doing sequential DEXA studies on the same machine, the effectiveness of treating osteoporosis can be determined.

For more information or to schedule a DEXA Study, please call Health Connections at (315) 464-8668 or (800) 464-8668 or call Nuclear Medicine at (315) 464-6506.