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Tibial quantitative ultrasound compared to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in preterm infants
Ariel Tarrell1, Matthew Grinsell2, Mary Murray3
1Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. ariel.tarrell@hsc.utah.edu.
Objective:
The gold standard for diagnosing metabolic bone disease in pediatrics is dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Bone quantitative ultrasound (QUS) has increasing applications. This study compared the relationship of DXA to QUS in preterm infants.
Design:
Prospective observational study of preterm infants ≤32 weeks gestation or ≤1800 grams at birth. DXA scans measuring bone mineral content (BMC) and tibial QUS scans measuring bone speed of sound (SOS) were obtained near term gestation.
Results:
41 infants had bone scans at mean corrected gestation 37.7 ± 2.1 weeks. BMC and SOS showed weak inverse correlation (R2 0.163, p < 0.01). BMC and SOS correlated with parameters at corrected gestational age at the time of the bone scans (p < 0.05-0.001). SOS correlated with birth gestational age (p < 0.001), not BMC.
Conclusions:
A statistically significant weak inverse correlation between DXA and QUS was observed. QUS may have advantages over DXA.
