High prevalence of fragility vertebral fractures in patients hospitalised in Internal Medicine Units. Results of the POINT (Prevalenceof Osteoporosis in lNTernal medicine) study

Abstract

Osteoporotic vertebral fractures often go unrecognised in both healtly individuals and pathological conditions. Few data exist in patients hospitalised in Internal Medicine Units, who often suffer from multiple concomitant chronic disorders. Aim af the study: This trulticentre cross-selectional study was aimed at assessing thge prevalence of vertebral fractures in an unselected population of pafienfs referring to IMUs. Correlations between vertebal fractures and the main coexisting diseases were also investigated. Methtods: lnformation on demographic, clinical and laboratory findings,, and on the presenre of known risk factors for osteoporosis was recorded. The Genant's semi-quantitative method was used to evalue, in central reading centre, the presence and severity of vertebral fractures in the thoracic and lumbar spine. Results: A cohort of 995 patients was evaluated. Conclusions: fragility vertebral fractures is a very frequent finding in patients hospitalised in IMUs. Consequently, mre attention should be devoted in this clinical setting to this comorbidity, which is known to be an additional factor for moratlity and, when localised in the toracic part of the spine, may negatively influence a concomitant respiratory insufficiency.