Osteoporosis Consultations Boost Vitamin D, Calcium

Fragility fracture patients who lack consultations are less likely to take supplements

MONDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Osteoporosis patients who receive consultations for fragility fractures are more likely to take vitamin D and other supplements than those who lack such consultations, researchers report in the September issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

Elizabeth A. Streeten, M.D., of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues analyzed data on 84 patients, including 53 who had osteoporosis consultations from November 2001 to December 2003 for hip and other fractures. The consultations included treatment with vitamin D, calcium and bisphosphonates.

The researchers found that most of the 53 patients who had consultations needed more vitamin D, and were urged to take that and calcium; 41 were also advised to take bisphosphonates.

Only two of the 31 patients who did not have consultations received vitamin D, while just one received a bisphosphonate. Most patients who had consultations stayed on their supplements.

"This consultation program cannot be considered an outright success since only half of all patients with a hip fracture actually received a consultation," the authors write. "However, osteoporosis consultation, when provided, facilitated the recognition of secondary causes and the generic treatment of osteoporosis."

Abstract
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