TITLE:
CT Thresholds for Spinal Bone Mineral Attenuation to Prioritize Eligible Older Women for Osteoporosis Screening
AUTHORS:
Seo Yeon K. Orite, Bryn Higuchi, Hyo-Chun Yoon, Lana H. Gimber
KEYWORDS:
Osteoporosis, Bone Mineral Attenuation, CT Threshold
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Radiology,
Vol.14 No.2,
June
28,
2024
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) measurements of bone mineral attenuation may be a useful means to identify older women who should be prioritized for bone mineral density screening. Methods: We compared bone mineral attenuation as measured in the L1 vertebra of CT studies to the results of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) studies to determine what CT attenuation thresholds might yield a reasonable combination of sensitivity and specificity for the detection of osteoporosis. The study was limited to women between the ages of 65 and 75 years who had a DEXA study and a CT that included the L1 or adjacent vertebra performed within 3 years of the DEXA study. Results: There were 1226 women in this study, of whom 452 (38%) had osteoporosis based on a T-score ≤ −2.5 by DEXA. There were 830 CT studies performed with contrast and 396 studies which were performed without contrast. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean HU of those studies performed without contrast compared to those with contrast (unenhanced mean 103 HU versus 125 HU, p