SynthesisOsteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA2017
Value and potential limitations of vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) compared to conventional spine radiography: experience from a fracture liaison service (FLS) and a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Recognition and reporting of vertebral fractures in thoracic and abdominal computed tomography images - have we learnt our lesson?Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026Article
- Vertebral fractures identified on lateral DXA images by deep learning predict incident fractures in older women.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026Article
- Commentary on "Incident subclinical vertebral fractures and health-related quality of life: JPOS cohort study".Journal of bone and mineral metabolism · 2026Article
- Article
- Beyond BMI: L4-L5 visceral-to-subcutaneous fat ratio on CT predicts impaired wound healing after posterior lumbar fusion-A retrospective study.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Article
- Systematic in-hospital screening and treatment for osteoporosis in a geriatric population with hip fractures.Journal of hospital medicine · 2025Article
- Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture in patients with childhood-onset lupus nephritis: prevalence and risk factors.Archives of osteoporosis · 2025Article
- Risk of Subsequent Hip Fractures across Varying Treatment Patterns for Index Vertebral Compression Fractures.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Bone mineral density, vertebral fractures and trabecular bone score in primary ovarian insufficiency.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2023Article
- Geriatric spine fractures - Demography, changing trends, challenges and special considerations: A narrative review.Journal of clinical orthopaedics and trauma · 2023Article
- Vertebral Fractures Assessed by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry and All-Cause Mortality: The Tromsø Study, 2007-2020.American journal of epidemiology · 2023Article
- Vertebral fractures, trabecular bone score and their determinants in chronic hypoparathyroidism.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2022Article
- Osteoporosis in children and adolescents: when to suspect and how to diagnose it.European journal of pediatrics · 2022Review
- Inter-observer agreement of vertebral fracture assessment with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry equipment.Archives of osteoporosis · 2021Article
- Current Applications and Selected Technical Details of Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2021Review
- Vertebral compression fractures: Still an unpredictable aspect of osteoporosisTurkish journal of medical sciences · 2021Review
- Bone Mineral Density and Risk of Osteoporotic Fractures in Women with Parkinson's Disease.Journal of osteoporosis · 2020Article
- Vertebral Fracture Identification as Part of a Comprehensive Risk Assessment in Patients with Osteoporosis.Current osteoporosis reports · 2018Review
- Propofol and sevoflurane combined with remifentanil on the pain index, inflammatory factors and postoperative cognitive function of spine fracture patients.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2018Article
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Abstract
We evaluated the value of VFA in the identification of vertebral fractures using a retrospective study and a meta-analysis. Performance of VFA was adequate in the meta-analysis although this was not demonstrated in our centre. We recommend checking the performance of VFA tools before exclusively relying on this tool.
introductionVertebral fractures are traditionally diagnosed using conventional radiographs of the spine. Vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) has been advocated as an alternative tool in the diagnosis of these fractures.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective study as well as a systematic review and a meta-analysis to evaluate the performance of VFA compared to conventional spinal radiography in patients who had sustained a fracture and thus at risk for osteoporosis. A risk of bias analysis was also performed.
resultsThe diagnostic study included 542 patients (25% male) with fractures. The sensitivity of low-radiation VFA to detect a patient with a vertebral fracture ≥ Genant grade 2 was 0.77 and its specificity 0.80. Two hundred ninety-seven (55%) patients had ≥1 and 135(25%) ≥3 unevaluable vertebrae. The systematic review identified 16 studies including a total of 3238 subjects (19% male) with a mean age range of 45 to 74 years. Seven studies had a low risk of bias and 9 had an intermediate risk, mainly due to not consecutively including patients. The pooled sensitivity of VFA to detect a patient with a vertebral fracture ≥Genant grade 2 was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.72-0.92) and specificity 0.90 (95% CI, 0.84-0.94).
conclusionsOur findings from the meta-analysis suggest an adequate performance of VFA for the detection of vertebral fractures. However, we could not demonstrate these findings in our center, especially the specificity. Our data advocate caution with exclusively relying on VFA in the assessment of vertebral fractures without identifying performance and potential limitations of the technique.
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