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The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Vol. 33 No. 7 1406-1410
© 1992 by Society of Nuclear Medicine
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Optimization of Follow-up Measurements of Bone Mass

Luis F. Verheij, Jacobus A.K. Blokland, Socrates E. Papapoulos, Aeilko H. Zwinderman and Ernest K.J. Pauwels

Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, and Clinical Investigation Unit, Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital, Leiden, The Netherlands
Department of Medical Statistics, State University, Leiden, The Netherlands

Correspondence: For reprints contact: J.A.K. Blokland, PhD, Division of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leiden, Building 1, C4-Q, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.

ABSTRACT

In bone densitometry, the precision of the instrument, the number of measurements and the time-points of the measurements are important criteria for monitoring bone mass changes. The most appropriate follow-up procedure can be determined by numerical comparison of various combinations of these three criteria. This can be done by computing the confidence interval of changes in bone mass. We developed a model to estimate the length of a confidence interval for the observed changes in individual patients. With specific instrument precision, a specified number of measurements and, assuming a linear rate of bone mass changes, the best estimate of the actual changes in bone mass is obtained by measurements at the end of an observation period. With the current precision of bone densitometers, follow-up of patients with yearly duplicate measurements is recommended. A shorter scan time interval offers no additional information unless very rapid bone loss is expected.






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Copyright © 1992 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine.