Diagnostic value of calcaneal quantitative ultrasound in the evaluation of osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly patients

Abstract

To study the correlation between calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and analyze the diagnostic value of calcaneal QUS in the evaluation of middle-aged and elderly osteoporosis. We assessed bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck and intertrochanteric of left hip and lumbar spine (L1-L4) sites with DXA and QUS parameters of the right and left calcanei in a cohort of 82 patients over the age of 50years. Using DXA parameters as the gold standard for the diagnosis of osteoporosis, the correlation coefficient between BMD and QUS parameters was calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curve was generated and areas under the curves were evaluated. Cut-off values for QUS were defined. In men, there was a moderate correlation between calcaneal QUS and proximal femoral BMD (P.05). In women, calcaneal QUS were moderately correlated with lumbar spine and proximal femoral BMD (P