[New DVO guideline for osteoporosis management 2014 and its importance for trauma surgeons]

Osteoporosis-associated fractures represent a growing challenge in the treatment of orthopedic patients. In November 2014 a new revision of the guidelines on osteoporosis by the German Osteology Society (Dachverband Osteologie DVO) was adopted, in which additional risk factors for fractures and further treatment options have been included. On the one hand the existing model used to diagnose osteoporosis and estimate a high fracture risk as a guidance for the use of specific anti-osteoporotic therapy in patients without a fragility fracture was maintained and further refined. On the other hand the guideline includes the option to initiate a specific osteoporosis therapy without a prior bone densitometry in patients with typical radiographs of a proximal femur fracture and higher grade vertebral fractures, suspicious for osteoporosis, depending on the overall clinical context. This may reduce the treatment gap of osteoporosis in Germany. In this paper the changes in the DVO guidelines 2014 on osteoporosis are summarized, focusing on the most important changes with practical relevance for orthopedic surgeons.