Authors: Stilling, Maiken¹; Søballe, Kjeld¹; Larsen, Kristian²; Andersen, Niels Trolle³; Rahbek, Ole¹

Source: Acta Orthopaedica, Volume 81, Number 4, August 2010 , pp. 463-470(8)

Publisher: Informa Healthcare

Abstract:

Background and purpose The quality and quantity of bone is important for the success of joint prostheses and may be monitored by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Available protocols suggest that the knee should be positioned in full extension. This is not possible for most patients in the first days after surgery; however, deficits in extension normalize with rehabilitation. Individual knee flexion between the baseline and follow-up investigations may therefore be different. We investigated the sensitivity of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements to knee flexion in a phantom study and in patients. We suggest a protocol for clinical use.

Methods 2 phantom tibial bones with tibia components were secured in a clamp and BMD measurements were repeated 5 times at every 5° change in flexion from 0° to 20°. For clinical use, a soft foam positioner was produced, in which the lower leg could be placed in neutral rotation and with the knee in approximately 25° of flexion. The clinical repeatability was tested with double examinations in 38 patients. We investigated 3 regions of interest (ROIs) below the tibial plateau.

Results In the phantom study, just 5° of flexion was found to change the measured mean BMD. The reproducibility of clinical measurements (coefficient of variation) in the 3 ROIs assessed ranged from 1.8% to 3.7% for the anteroposterior scans, and from 3.4% to 6.2% for the lateral scans.

Interpretation Knee flexion does affect the measured periprosthetic tibial BMD, and knee flexion should be the same at all clinical follow-ups. The protocol and soft foam positioner that we suggest permit precise and reliable assessment of BMD in the proximal tibia and they can be used in clinical work.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/17453674.2010.501746

Affiliations: 1: 1Department of Orthopaedics, Aarhus University Hospital 2: 2Orthopaedic Research Unit, Hospital Unit West, Holstebro Regional Hospital 3: 3Department of Biostatistics, Aarhus University, Denmark

Publication date: 2010-08-01

More about this publication?

• Information for Authors
• Subscribe to this Title
• Terms & Conditions
• ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Surgery
• By this author: Stilling, Maiken ;  Søballe, Kjeld ;  Larsen, Kristian ;  Andersen, Niels Trolle ;  Rahbek, Ole

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers