Degenerative Changes

 

There is sclerosis, scoliosis, and discordance of bone mineral density seen in this Hologic lumbar spine scan. Such degenerative changes will overestimate the bone mineral density in the lumbar spine and make it less useful in followup. An additional site such as the 1/3 wrist should be added in a patient with degenerative changes in the lumbar spine.

There are severe degenerative changes in the right femoral head which extend into the femoral neck. This results in discordance in the bone mineral density between the femoral neck and total hip. In this case, the left hip had been replaced, so the right hip was scanned.

There are degenerative changes in the distal wrist. The 1/3 radius is unaffected by degeneratie changes. The presence of degenerative changes can obscure usual landmarks.

Case Description:

Degenerative changes are common internal artifacts. These panels show degenerative changes in the spine, hip, and wrist. The presence of degenerative changes, depending on location, may make the scan less useful in diagnosis (accuracy) and follow-up (precision)

Credit:

Sarah L Morgan, MD, RD, CCD, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

References:

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