Effects of Spinal Hardware on Spine DXA Analysis
In this analysis the rods are mapped and there is no change in category for the spine diagnosis.
In this analysis L3 and L4 are completely removed from the region of interest scanned. There is a change in category from osteoporosis to osteopenia in the analysis completely removing the spinal hardware from the global spine region of interest scanned. If there is concern that an artifact will affect the analysis, it is best to completely remove it from the region of interest scanned.
Case Description:
In the top initial normal analysis, the rods map on the baseline and follow-up scans. In the bottom analysis, L3 and L4 are completely removed from the global spine region of interest. There is a difference in the analysis data, and the preferred analysis is to completely remove any metallic hardware from the region of interest scanned.
Credit:
Sarah L Morgan, MD, RD, CCD, The University of Alabama at Birmingham