BONE HEALTH ASSESSMENT OF ELDERLY PATIENTS UNDERGOING BARIATRIC SURGERY.

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery promotes changes in body composition, that can include the loss of bone mineral density (BMD). There is a lack of studies on the evolution of bone health of elderly people who underwent bariatric surgery, in general, and when comparing the gastric bypass (GB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) techniques. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the bone health of elderly patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery. METHODS: This is a prospective randomized clinical study, that was carried out with individuals of both sexes, ≥65 years, undergoing GB or SG and who met the inclusion criteria. Age, gender and comorbidities (type 2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia and osteoarthrosis) were collected and analyzed at baseline. Anthropometric data (weight, body mass index, percentage of weight loss, percentage of excess weight loss), laboratory tests related to bone health and bone mineral density were analyzed before and 24 months after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 36 patients (GB, n=18; SG, n=18) were evaluated. At baseline, except for sex and preoperative body mass index, which was higher in GB, groups were similar. After 24 months, GB was superior for weight loss (%WL) and excess weight loss (%EWL). Regarding bone health, a significant decrease of BMD was observed in the spine, total proximal femur and femoral neck in all groups, with an average decrease of 5.1%, 10.5% and 15.1%, respectively. In addition, the observed decrease in BMD was up to 25% in the total femur after 24 months, six patients went from normal BMD to osteopenia and one from osteopenia to osteoporosis. There was no difference in parathormone values. However, there was an association between the increase in parathormone and the decrease in BMD in the spine, mainly in the GB group. There was no association between %WL and %EWL with the reduction in BMD. CONCLUSION: Bariatric surgery was related to the reduction of BMD in elderly patients, but there was no statistical difference between the two surgical techniques.

Cost-utility Analysis of Neoadjuvant Teriparatide Therapy in Osteopenic Patients Undergoing Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery.

STUDY DESIGN: A cost-utility analysis study. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the cost-utility of neoadjuvant teriparatide therapy in osteopenic patients undergoing adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: There is increasing evidence supporting preoperative use of anabolic agents such as teriparatide for preoperative optimization of ASD patients with poor bone density. However, such treatments are associated with added costs. To our knowledge, the cost-utility of teriparatide in osteopenic patients undergoing ASD surgery has not been established. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A decision-analysis model was developed for a hypothetical 68-year-old female patient with osteopenia ( T score <-1.0) undergoing a T11 to pelvis instrumented spinal fusion for ASD. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to create estimates for event probabilities, costs, and quality adjusted life years at each node. Key model assumptions were that administration of a 4-month preoperative teriparatide course reduced 2-year postoperative reoperation rates [for pseudarthrosis from 5% to 2.5% and for proximal junctional failure (PJF) from 15% to 5%]. Monte Carlo simulations were used to calculate the mean incremental cost utility ratio and incremental net monetary benefits. One-way sensitivity analysis was used to estimate the contribution of individual parameters to uncertainty in the model. RESULTS: Teriparatide was the favored strategy in 82% of the iterations. The mean incremental cost utility ratio for the teriparatide strategy was negative (higher net benefit, lower net cost), and lower than the willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000 per quality adjusted life year. Teriparatide use was associated with a mean incremental net monetary benefit of $3,948. One-way sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the factors with the greatest impact on the model were the incidence of PJF in the no teriparatide group, the duration and monthly cost of treatment, and the cost of reoperation due to PJF. CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant teriparatide is a cost-effective strategy to reduce postoperative complications in patients with osteopenia undergoing ASD surgery.

[Revision total hip arthroplasty: analysis of the predictive value of a radiographic classification system for assessment of bone stock loss]. / Revisionshüftendoprothetik: Untersuchung des prädiktiven Werts einer radiologischen Defektklassifikation.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of a radiographic classification system concerning implant and bone graft in revision total hip arthroplasty. This classification is used to assess bone stock loss prior to surgery, thus hypothetically enabling an adequate choice of the implant and bone graft required. METHOD: 33 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of aseptic failure of total hip arthroplasty were included in the study. The investigation was performed using the classification system according to Saleh et al. The predictive value was analyzed by comparing the radiographically based recommendation concerning implant and bone graft and the intraoperative procedure according to a blinded observer technique. The Spearman coefficient of correlation (r (s)) was used to establish levels of agreement among multiple ordinal variables. RESULTS: Analysis of correlation between preoperative radiological estimations and intraoperative conclusions concerning implant and bone graft revealed coefficients of correlation (r (s)) of 0.53 (p < 0.01) for the acetabular and of 0.63 (p < 0.01) for the femoral classification. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the Saleh classification does not provide sufficient information for preoperative assessment of the revision implant and bone graft required concerning the acetabular side, whereas planning of the operative procedure regarding the femoral implant seems to be possible. These ambivalent findings should be taken into account prior to revision total hip arthroplasty.

Biological assessment of the bone-screw interface after insertion of uncoated and hydroxyapatite-coated pedicular screws in the osteopenic sheep.

The sheep seems to be a promising model of osteoporosis and biomaterial osteointegration in osteopenic bone. The long-term ovariectomized sheep model was used for the biological investigation of bone healing around uncoated and hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated pedicle screws in osteopenic bone. Four sheep were ovariectomized and four sheep were sham-operated. Twenty-four months after surgery, the animals were implanted with uncoated and HA-coated stainless steel screws in the lumbar vertebral pedicles. Four months later, bone-to-implant contact, bone ingrowth, and bone hardness were measured around screws. Uncoated stainless steel presented significantly (p < 0.0005) lower bone-to-implant contact in healthy and osteopenic bone compared with HA-coated stainless steel. HA significantly improved bone ingrowth in healthy bone (p < 0.05) compared with uncoated stainless steel. Osteopenia significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the area of bone ingrowth around the screw threads for both types of implants. In the inner thread area, bone microhardness significantly increased (p < 0.05) in HA-coated surface versus uncoated for healthy and osteopenic bone. HA coating significantly enhances bone-to-implant contact also in osteopenic bone in comparison with uncoated stainless steel surfaces. Bone ingrowth and mineralization are ameliorated by the osteoconductive HA coating. However, osteopenia seems to greatly influence bone ingrowth processes around the implanted screws regardless of the characteristics of the material surface.