Therapeutic Approaches to Secondary Fracture Prevention in High Risk Populations: Current Recommendations and Advances

Background: Osteoporotic fragility fracture is a burgeoning health epidemic that is associated with high rates of disability, morbidity, and mortality. Based on NHANES data, approximately 10 million Americans are affected by this disease. Areas of Uncertainty: Successful secondary fracture prevention measures are often limited by the under-diagnosis of osteoporosis after fragility fractures because of lack of patient and physician awareness of the disease, lack of follow-up, and medical nonadherence. Therapeutic Advances: Current guidelines recommend the use of Bisphosphonate as the first-line therapy for secondary fracture prevention. Compared with placebo, randomized controlled trials have demonstrated a significant reduction in vertebral and nonvertebral fractures using Alendronate, Risedronate, Ibandronate, and Zoledronic acid. All but Ibandronate showed a significant reduction in hip fractures as well (all trials with P
Source: American Journal of Therapeutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Systematic Review and Clinical Guidelines Source Type: research