Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34927462›Full record

ArticleBone & joint research2021

Preoperative measures of bone mineral density from digital wrist radiographs.

Greg Robertson, Robert Wallace, A Hamish R W Simpson, Sarah P Dawson

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Article in Bone & joint research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Greg RobertsonDepartment of Orthopaedics and Trauma, University of Edinburgh Division of Clinical and Surgical Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.
Robert WallaceDepartment of Orthopaedics and Trauma, University of Edinburgh Division of Clinical and Surgical Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5740-460X
A Hamish R W SimpsonDepartment of Orthopaedics and Trauma, University of Edinburgh Division of Clinical and Surgical Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.
Sarah P DawsonPark Doctor Pty Ltd, St Lucia, South Africa.
University of Edinburgh · GBQueen Elizabeth University Hospital · GBSt Lucy's Hospital · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsAssessment of bone mineral density (BMD) with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is a well-established clinical technique, but it is not available in the acute trauma setting. Thus, it cannot provide a preoperative estimation of BMD to help guide the technique of fracture fixation. Alternative methods that have been suggested for assessing BMD include: 1) cortical measures, such as cortical ratios and combined cortical scores; and 2) aluminium grading systems from preoperative digital radiographs. However, limited research has been performed in this area to validate the different methods. The aim of this study was to investigate the evaluation of BMD from digital radiographs by comparing various methods against DXA scanning.

methodsA total of 54 patients with distal radial fractures were included in the study. Each underwent posteroanterior (PA) and lateral radiographs of the injured wrist with an aluminium step wedge. Overall 27 patients underwent routine DXA scanning of the hip and lumbar spine, with 13 undergoing additional DXA scanning of the uninjured forearm. Analysis of radiographs was performed on ImageJ and Matlab with calculations of cortical measures, cortical indices, combined cortical scores, and aluminium equivalent grading.

resultsCortical measures showed varying correlations with the forearm DXA results (range: Pearson correlation coefficient (r) = 0.343 (p = 0.251) to r = 0.521 (p = 0.068)), with none showing statistically significant correlations. Aluminium equivalent grading showed statistically significant correlations with the forearm DXA of the corresponding region of interest (p < 0.017).

conclusionCortical measures, cortical indices, and combined cortical scores did not show a statistically significant correlation to forearm DXA measures. Aluminium-equivalent is an easily applicable method for estimation of BMD from digital radiographs in the preoperative setting. Cite this article:

Indexed as

Bone densityBone mineral density (BMD)digital radiographsdual-energy X-ray absorptiometryForearmfracture fixationFracture fixationfractures of the distal radiusHipPearson correlation coefficientRadiographyTraumaWrist

Identifiers

PMID34927462
PMCPMC8696515
OpenAlexW4200038924

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.