Paget's disease of bone in Malta: A preliminary survey

Abstract

We present the results of a preliminary survey carried out on 46 patients with Paget's disease of bone in Malta, 40 of whom were seen at a general medical outpatient clinic and a further 6 at a primary health care centre over the first 6 months of 1997. Various aspects of the disease have been analysed: prevalence, age and sex distribution, familial aggregates, mode of presentation, complications, pattern of bone involvement, a semi-quantitative assay of disease activity as assessed by bone scintigraphy and serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) levels, and the factors that influenced disease activity. The results have been compared to previous published surveys on Paget's disease in different countries.