Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26650377›Full record

ArticleOsteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA2016

Evidence of effectiveness of a fracture liaison service to reduce the re-fracture rate.

A Nakayama, G Major, E Holliday, J Attia, N Bogduk

Abstract readEvaluation StudyMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 108 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
108citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

108 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Effectiveness of fracture liaison service in reducing the risk of secondary fragility fractures in adults aged 50 and older: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2024
    Pooled it
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  6. The impact of fracture liaison services on subsequent fractures and mortality: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2021
    Pooled it
  7. Metasynthesis of Patient Attitudes Toward Bone Densitometry.Journal of general internal medicine · 2018
    Pooled it
  8. Identifying characteristics of an effective fracture liaison service: systematic literature review.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2018
    Pooled it
  9. Effectiveness of anti-osteoporotic drugs to prevent secondary fragility fractures: systematic review and meta-analysis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2017
    Pooled it
  10. Clinical guidelines for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis: summary statements and recommendations from the Italian Society for Orthopaedics and Traumatology.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2017
    Guideline
  11. Fracture liaison service (FLS) is associated with lower subsequent fragility fracture risk and mortality: NoFRACT (the Norwegian capture the fracture initiative).Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2025
    Trial
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  13. A systemwide approach to secondary fracture prevention-the New South Wales Osteoporosis Refracture Prevention Initiative was associated with reduced refractures and was economically sustainable.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026
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48 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

A NakayamaDepartment of Rheumatology, Bone and Joint Centre Royal Newcastle Centre/John Hunter Hospital, Lookout Road, New Lambton Heights, Newcastle, New South Wales, 2305, Australia.
G MajorDepartment of Rheumatology, Bone and Joint Centre Royal Newcastle Centre/John Hunter Hospital, Lookout Road, New Lambton Heights, Newcastle, New South Wales, 2305, Australia. gabor.major@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au.
E HollidayFaculty of Medicine University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, 2308, Australia.
J AttiaFaculty of Medicine University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, 2308, Australia.
N BogdukDepartment of Rheumatology, Bone and Joint Centre Royal Newcastle Centre/John Hunter Hospital, Lookout Road, New Lambton Heights, Newcastle, New South Wales, 2305, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

summaryWe assessed the ability of a fracture liaison service (FLS) to directly reduce re-fracture risk. Having a FLS is associated with a ∼40% reduction in the 3-year risk of major bone and ∼30% of any bone re-fracture. The number needed to treat to prevent a re-fracture is 20.

introductionFLS have been promoted as the most effective interventions for secondary fracture prevention, and while there is evidence of increased rate of investigation and treatment at institutions with a FLS, only a few studies have considered fracture outcomes directly. We therefore sought to evaluate the ability of our FLS to reduce re-fracture risk.

methodsHistorical cohort study of all patients ≥50 years presenting over a 6-month period with a minimal trauma fracture (MTF) to the emergency departments of a tertiary hospital with a FLS, and one without a FLS. Baseline characteristics, mortality and MTFs over a 3-year follow-up were recorded.

resultsFive hundred fifteen patients at the FLS hospital and 416 patients at the non-FLS hospital were studied. Over 3 years, 63/515 (12%) patients at the FLS hospital and 70/416 (17%) at the non-FLS hospital had a MTF. All patients were analysed in an intention-to-treat analysis regardless of whether they were seen in the FLS follow-up clinic. Statistical analysis using Cox proportional hazard models in the presence of a competing risk of death from any cause was used. After adjustment for baseline characteristics, there was a ∼30% reduction in rate of any re-fracture at the FLS hospital (hazard ratio (HR) 0.67, confidence interval (CI) 0.47-0.95, p value 0.025) and a ∼40% reduction in major re-fractures (hip, spine, femur, pelvis or humerus) (HR 0.59, CI 0.39-0.90, p value 0.013).

conclusionsWe found a ∼30% reduction in any re-fractures and a ∼40% reduction in major re-fractures at the FLS hospital compared with a similar non-FLS hospital. The number of patients needed to treat to prevent one new fracture over 3 years is 20.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overBone Density Conservation AgentsDelivery of Health Care, IntegratedEvidence-Based MedicineFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedNew South WalesOsteoporosisOsteoporotic FracturesRecurrenceRetrospective StudiesSecondary PreventionBone Density Conservation AgentsBone/prevention and controlFracture liaison serviceFracturesOsteoporosis/epidemiologyOsteoporotic fractures/prevention and controlSecondary prevention

Identifiers

PMID26650377
PMCPMC4767862

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.