Cervical Spine Computed Tomography Hounsfield Units Accurately Predict Low Bone Mineral Density of the Femoral Neck

The objective of this study to determine the correlation between Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements from the C4 vertebral body and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) T-score. Summary of Background Data: Recent attention has turned to the utilization of HU measurements from computed tomography (CT) as a potential screening method for low bone mineral density (BMD). We hypothesized that cervical spine CT HU measurements will correlate with BMD measurements conducted with DXA scans of the femoral neck. Material and Methods: Patients with cervical CT and femoral neck DXA scans at 1 institution were included in the study. HUs were manually measured from the cancellous bone in the C4 vertebrae by 1 author blinded to DXA scans. HU measurements were compared with femoral neck DXA T-scores for the entire population. Results: A total of 149 patients with 149 cervical CT and femoral neck DXA scans were included in the study. The low BMD group (osteoporotic and osteopenic combined) showed a significant difference in HU compared with the normal groups within the study (P
Source: Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques - Category: Surgery Tags: Primary Research Source Type: research