Epidemiology of hip fractures in Thailand.

This retrospective study examining hip fracture incidence, hip fracture trends, and the annual hospitalization costs for hip fractures in a population aged 50 years and older within the Universal Health Coverage System revealed that the incidence of hip fractures and the annual hospitalization costs for hip fractures increased significantly from 2013 to 2022. PURPOSE: To examine the annual incidence of hip fractures over 10 years (2013-2022), hip fracture trends, and the annual hospitalization costs for hip fractures in a population aged 50 years and older within the Universal Health Coverage System. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. Hip fracture hospitalizations were identified using ICD-10. Data on the number of hip fracture hospitalizations, population aged ≥ 50 years, and hospitalization costs were obtained. The primary outcome was the annual incidence of hip fractures. The secondary outcomes were hip fracture incidence by 5-year age group, the annual hospitalization costs for hip fractures, and the number of hip fractures in 6 regions of Thailand. RESULTS: The hip fracture incidence increased annually from 2013-2019 and then plateaued from 2019-2022, with the crude incidence (per 100,000 population) increasing from 112.7 in 2013 to 146.7 in 2019 and 146.9 in 2022. The age-standardized incidence (per 100,000 population) increased from 116.3 in 2013 to 145.1 in 2019 and remained at 140.7 in 2022. Increases in the crude incidence were observed in both sexes (34% in females and 21% in males; p < 0.05). The annual hospitalization costs for hip fractures increased 2.5-fold, from 17.3 million USD in 2013 to 42.8 million USD in 2022 (p < 0.001). The number of hip fractures increased in all six regions of Thailand across the 10-year study period. CONCLUSION: Osteoporotic hip fractures are a significant health concern in Thailand. The incidence and the annual hospitalization costs for hip fractures increased significantly from 2013 to 2022.

Summary of the Thai Osteoporosis Foundation (TOPF) Clinical Practice Guideline on the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis 2021.

Objectives: The Thai Osteoporosis Foundation (TOPF) is an academic organization that consists of a multidisciplinary group of healthcare professionals managing osteoporosis. The first clinical practice guideline for diagnosing and managing osteoporosis in Thailand was published by the TOPF in 2010, then updated in 2016 and 2021. This paper presents important updates of the guideline for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in Thailand. Methods: A panel of experts in the field of osteoporosis was recruited by the TOPF to review and update the TOPF position statement from 2016. Evidence was searched using the MEDLINE database through PubMed. Primary writers submitted their first drafts, which were reviewed, discussed, and integrated into the final document. Recommendations are based on reviews of the clinical evidence and experts' opinions. The recommendations are classified using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation classification system. Results: The updated guideline comprises 90 recommendations divided into 12 main topics. This paper summarizes the recommendations focused on 4 main topics: the diagnosis and evaluation of osteoporosis, fracture risk assessment and indications for bone mineral density measurement, fracture risk categorization, management according to fracture risk, and pharmacological management of osteoporosis. Conclusions: This updated clinical practice guideline is a practical tool to assist healthcare professionals in diagnosing, evaluating, and managing osteoporosis in Thailand.

Prevalence of asymptomatic radiographic vertebral fracture in postmenopausal Thai women.

We aim to investigate the nationwide prevalence of asymptomatic radiographic vertebral fracture in Thailand. We found 29% of postmenopausal women had at least one radiographic vertebral fracture. The prevalence was significantly higher among women with osteoporosis at the total hip (TH) region which implies that TH bone mineral density is a determinant of vertebral fracture risk. INTRODUCTION: Radiographic vertebral fracture is associated with an increased risk of osteoporotic fracture and mortality in postmenopausal women. We designed a study to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic vertebral fractures in postmenopausal Thai women. METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional investigation at five university hospitals so as to achieve representation of the four main regions of Thailand. Radiographs were taken from 1062 postmenopausal women averaging 60 years of age. The presence of vertebral fracture was assessed by the Genant's semiquantitative method with three independent radiologists. Respective bone mineral density was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) at the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and total hip (TH). RESULTS: Among the 1062 women, 311 were found to have at least one radiographic vertebral fracture-yielding a prevalence of 29% (95% CI 23.6-32.0%)-and 90 (8.5%, 95% CI 6.8-10.2%) had at least two fractures. The prevalence of vertebral fracture increased with advancing age. Most fractures occurred at one vertebra (71%) and only 29% at multiple vertebrae. The prevalence of vertebral fracture was significantly higher among women with osteoporosis compared with non-osteoporosis at the TH region. There was no significant difference in the prevalence among women with or without osteoporosis at the LS or FN. CONCLUSIONS: Radiographic vertebral fractures were common among Thai postmenopausal women (~ 29%). These findings suggest that approximately one in three postmenopausal women has undiagnosed vertebral fracture. Radiographic diagnosis should therefore be an essential investigation for identifying and confirming the presence of vertebral fractures.

Cost-effectiveness of denosumab for high-risk postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in Thailand.

Aims: This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of denosumab for treating postmenopausal women with osteoporosis (PMO) at high risk of fracture in Thailand.Materials and methods: A published Markov cohort cost-effectiveness model was populated with country-specific data as available and other published data as needed. The model used a societal perspective, lifetime horizon, efficacy data from network meta-analysis of trials, and included costs for direct medical and non-medical care, informal care, and osteoporosis treatments to compare denosumab to no pharmacologic treatment (calcium and vitamin D supplements only) and to oral weekly alendronate. The base case (high-risk population) included postmenopausal women with femoral neck T-score ≤-2.5, mean age 65 years at entry, and history of vertebral fracture.Results: High-risk women with osteoporosis using denosumab had the greatest number of life years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) with higher reductions in hip and vertebral fracture incidence compared with patients with no pharmacologic treatment. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was 119,575 Thai Baht (THB) per QALY for denosumab versus no pharmacologic treatment and 199,186 THB per QALY for denosumab versus alendronate. Among Thai postmenopausal women with high-risk of fractures, denosumab was cost-effective compared with no pharmacologic treatment at a willingness-to-pay threshold of 160,000 THB per QALY. One-way sensitivity analysis showed models were most sensitive to changes in denosumab pricing.Limitations: Data from other countries used when country-specific data were unavailable may not accurately reflect the true experience in Thailand. The model focused explicitly on hip, vertebral, and wrist fractures, and therefore provides a conservative estimate of the overall potential impact of osteoporosis-related fracture. The fracture risk was not adjusted to reflect potential changes in risk after denosumab treatment discontinuation.Conclusions: In Thailand, denosumab offers a cost-effective osteoporosis treatment option versus no pharmacologic treatment in postmenopausal women at high risk of fracture.

Open-label study of treatment with alendronate sodium plus vitamin D in men and women with osteoporosis in Thailand.

BACKGROUND: It is generally believed that Thai people do not suffer from hypovitaminosis D because there is abundant sunlight throughout the year, and that taking vitamin D supplements could result in abnormally high levels of vitamin D. This is a Thai FDA-driven study to investigate this risk over a period of 26 weeks of taking alendronate sodium/vitamin D3 combination tablets. METHODS: Osteoporosis patients in Thailand were recruited to a multicenter, open-label, 6-month trial of oral alendronate sodium 70 mg/vitamin D3 5600 IU. Patients received study medication once a week for 26 weeks. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and Beta-CrossLaps (ß-CTx) levels were measured at baseline and 26 weeks. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with 25(OH)D ≥ 50 ng/mL at week 26; it was hypothesized that 26 weeks' treatment would not result in 25(OH)D serum levels ≥ 50 ng/mL in > 7% of osteoporosis patients. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-eight patients were recruited. At baseline, 67.2% of the patients had 25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL; this declined to 34.4% by week 26. The mean 25(OH)D level improved from 27.8 ng/mL at baseline to 33.6 ng/mL at week 26. Five patients (2.69% of the full analysis set) had 25(OH)D levels ≥ 50 ng/mL at 26 weeks. The highest 25(OH)D level, 64.3 ng/mL, was observed in a patient whose baseline level was 102.2 ng/mL. The majority (62.9%) of the patients had optimal 25(OH)D levels (30-50 ng/mL). ß-CTx levels were reduced by 57.7% after 26 weeks' treatment. No clinically significant cases of hypercalcemia which could be associated with hypervitaminosis D were identified during physical examination, in vital signs, or in laboratory results. Overall, 73 patients (36.9%) reported at least one adverse event (AE), with 13 (6.6%) reporting drug-related AEs. Four patients discontinued due to AEs, two of which were drug-related. Serious AEs were reported for four patients, of which one was considered drug-related. CONCLUSIONS: Oral alendronate sodium 70 mg plus vitamin D3 5600 IU once weekly had an acceptable safety profile in this study, and increased serum 25(OH)D and reduced ß-CTx levels in osteoporosis patients. This treatment improved 25(OH)D levels, without causing abnormally high levels, after 26 weeks' treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov NCT01437111 , Registered September 19, 2011.

Correction to: Consensus on best practice standards for Fracture Liaison Service in the Asia-Pacific region.

In this article the name of the sixth author, E. Michael Lewiecki was rendered incorrectly. The publisher regrets this error and apologizes for the inconvenience caused.

Consensus on best practice standards for Fracture Liaison Service in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) Consensus Meeting endorsed by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), Asian Federation of Osteoporosis Societies (AFOS), and Asia Pacific Osteoporosis Foundation (APOF) was hosted by the Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association on October 14, 2017. International and domestic experts reviewed the 13 Best Practice Framework (BPF) standards and concluded that all standards were generally applicable in the Asia-Pacific region and needed only minor modifications to fit the healthcare settings in the region. PURPOSE: To review and generate consensus on best practices of fracture liaison service (FLS) in the Asia-Pacific (AP) region. METHODS: In October 2017, the Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association (TOA) invited experts from the AP region (n = 23), the Capture the Fracture Steering Committee (n = 2), and the USA (n = 1) to join the AP region FLS Consensus Meeting in Taipei. After two rounds of consensus generation, the recommendations on the 13 Best Practice Framework (BPF) standards were reported and reviewed by the attendees. Experts unable to attend the on-site meeting reviewed the draft, made suggestions, and approved the final version. RESULTS: Because the number of FLSs in the region is rapidly increasing, experts agreed that it was timely to establish consensus on benchmark quality standards for FLSs in the region. They also agreed that the 13 BPF standards and the 3 levels of standards were generally applicable, but that some clarifications were necessary. They suggested, for example, that patient and family education be incorporated into the current standards and that communication with the public to promote FLSs be increased. CONCLUSIONS: The consensus on the 13 BPF standards reviewed in this meeting was that they were generally applicable and required only a few advanced clarifications to increase the quality of FLSs in the region.

Back pain in patients with severe osteoporosis on teriparatide or antiresorptives: a prospective observational study in a multiethnic population.

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated reduced back pain in a multiethnic population treated with teriparatide and/or antiresorptives in real-life clinical settings over 12 months. METHODS: This prospective observational study comprised 562 men and postmenopausal women (mean age 68.8 years) receiving either teriparatide (n = 230), antiresorptives (raloxifene or bisphosphonates; n = 322), or both (n = 10) for severe osteoporosis. The primary endpoint was the relative risk of new/worsening back pain at six months. RESULTS: At baseline, a higher proportion of teriparatide-treated than antiresorptive-treated patients had severe back pain (30.9% vs. 17.7%), extreme pain/discomfort (25.3% vs. 16.8%), extreme anxiety/depression (16.6% vs. 7.8%) and were confined to bed (10.0% vs. 5.3%). Teriparatide-treated patients had higher visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain (5.8 ± 2.42 vs. 5.1 ± 2.58) and lower mean European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) scores (37.7 ± 29.15 vs. 45.5 ± 31.42) than antiresorptive-treated patients. The incidence of new/worsening back pain at six months for patients on teriparatide and antiresorptives was 9.8% and 10.3% (relative risk 0.99, 95% confidence interval 0.80-1.23), respectively. The incidence of severe back pain at 12 months was 1.3% and 1.6% in the teriparatide and antiresorptive treatment groups, respectively. Teriparatide-treated patients had lower mean VAS (2.71 ± 2.21 vs. 3.30 ± 2.37) and EQ­5D (46.1 ± 33.18 vs. 55.4 ± 32.65) scores at 12 months. More teriparatide-treated patients felt better (82.7% vs. 71.0%) and were very satisfied with treatment (49.4% vs. 36.8%) compared to antiresorptive-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Patients treated with either teriparatide or antiresorptives had similar risk of new/worsening back pain at six months.

Factors influencing diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis after a fragility fracture among postmenopausal women in Asian countries: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: A vast amount of literature describes the incidence of fracture as a risk for recurrent osteoporotic fractures in western and Asian countries. Osteoporosis evaluation and treatment after a low-trauma fracture, however, has not been well characterized in postmenopausal women in Asia. The purpose of this study was to characterize patient and health system characteristics associated with the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis among postmenopausal women hospitalized with a fragility fracture in Asia. METHODS: Patient surveys and medical charts of postmenopausal women (N=1,122) discharged after a fragility hip fracture from treatment centers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007 were reviewed for bone mineral density (BMD) measurement, osteoporosis diagnosis, and osteoporosis treatment. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age was 72.9 (11.5) years. A BMD measurement was reported by 28.2% of patients, 51.5% were informed that they had osteoporosis, and 33.0% received prescription medications for osteoporosis in the 6 months after discharge. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses, prior history of fracture decreased the odds of a BMD measurement (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.45-0.88). Having a BMD measurement increased the odds of osteoporosis diagnosis (OR 10.1, 95% CI 6.36-16.0), as did having health insurance (OR 4.95, 95% CI 1.51-16.21 for private insurance with partial self-payment relative to 100% self-payment). A history of fracture was not independently associated with an osteoporosis diagnosis (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.56-1.15). Younger age reduced the odds of receiving medication for osteoporosis (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.36-0.96 relative to age ≥65), while having a BMD measurement increased the odds (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.23-2.61). CONCLUSIONS: Osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment in Asian countries were driven by BMD measurement but not by fracture history. Future efforts should emphasize education of general practitioners and patients about the importance of fracture.

Increasing incidence of hip fracture in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Hip fracture is a major health problem in Thailand. This study attempted to examine the incidence, related factors, and trends of hip fracture in Chiang Mai, Thailand. All hip fracture data among patients aged 50 yr or older were collected from hospitals in Chiang Mai, Thailand from August 1, 2006 to July 3, 2007. Data from the 1997 Chiang Mai hip fracture study were used for comparison. In the study period, 690 hip fractures were reported: 203 males and 487 females (male to female ratio was 1 to 2.4), with a mean age of 76.7 yr. The estimated cumulative incidence was 181.0 per 100,000, and the adjusted incidence was 253.3 (males: 135.9; females: 367.9). A simple fall was the most common mechanism (79%) of fracture, and 80% of the hip fractures occurred in patients aged 70 yr or older. The highest incidence of hip fracture was observed in patients older than 85 yr (1239). At 6 mo postfracture, most patients (61%) used a walking aid. Compared with the 1997 data, hip fracture incidence had increased by an average of 2% per yr, and the incidence of hip fracture had increased significantly from August 1, 2006 to July 31, 2007, especially in patients older than 75 yr. In patients older than 84 yr, the incidence increased by a factor of 2. Urgent strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, and hence hip fracture, are needed.

Effect of GGCX gene polymorphism on the responses of serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin and bone turnover markers after treatment with vitamin K2 (menatetrenone) among postmenopausal Thai women.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGCX) gene polymorphisms on the response of serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) and bone turnover markers 3 months after treatment with menatetrenone. One hundred and forty postmenopausal Thai women were enrolled and assigned to receive 45 mg/day treatment of menatetrenone (MK-4) concurrently with calcium 1.2 g and vitamin D 400 IU for 3 months. Demographic characteristics, GGCX genotyping, serum bone turnover markers and ucOC levels were obtained from all participants at baseline. We evaluated the reduction of ucOC at 3 months and the reduction of beta-CTx and P1NP at 1 and 3 months. The responses were compared between the different genotypes of GG and GA + AA groups. There was a significant reduction of serum ucOC, beta-CTx and P1NP from the baseline at 3 months (p < 0.001) though there was no significant difference between genotypes (GG vs. GA + AA; p > 0.05). Nonetheless, a subgroup analysis of postmenopausal women who 65 years of age or over (N = 37) revealed a significant difference between the two groups in the reduction of ucOC. Menatetrenone significantly reduced serum ucOC as well as beta-CTX and P1NP from the baseline. GGCX polymorphism appeared to have an influence over the reduction of ucOC especially in older women (age ≥65). Furthermore, the groups which have "A" allele trend to being more efficient in reducing the serum ucOC level than the group which does not have it.

Effects of differences in polymorphism of gene encoding enzyme faenesyl diphosphate synthase (FDPS), rs2297480, on bone mineral density and biochemical markers of bone turnover in Thai postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to find the frequency distribution ofa SNP rs2297480 of the human FDPS gene and its influences on BMD and bone turnover markers in postmenopausal Thai women who never-use any anti-osteoporotic drugs. MATERIAL AND METHOD: One hundred and thirty-five postmenopausal women at the age of 40 or over, and having been menopause for at least 2 years were enrolled in the present study. The patients having chronic medical conditions and having a fracture in any bone within 3 months were excluded. All of the subjects never used any anti-osteoporotic drugs, steroid hormones and warfarin. Bone mineral density and bone turnover markers including N-MID osteocalcin and beta-CTx were performed. Blood samplings for FDPS genotyping were collected and examined for rs2297480 SNP RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 60.4 (43-79) years old. The mean BMD T-score at all three major sites (Femoral neck, Lumbar spine, and Total hip) fell in the criteria of osteopenia. Twenty-four per cent of patients were diagnosed as osteoporosis (BMD T-score at one of three major sites was equal to or below -2.5 SD). One hundred and thirty-five patients whose data of rs2297480 SNP were defined as follows: AC genotype (45.1%), CC genotype (41.6%) and AA genotype (13.3%). Comparing among these three genotypes of rs2297480 SNP the results showed no differences of BMD and BMTs among them. The absolute BMD after being adjusted to the same level of age and body weight and also beta-CTx and N-MID OC between the group of AA + AC and the CC genotypes were also compared. No factors were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This is the first research investigating the gene FDPS rs2297480 SNP in postmenopausal Thai women. The frequency distribution of this SNP is the same as the distribution of the Asians but different from the Caucasians'. There are some small trends in the lower baseline of BMD at femoral neck and total hip in CC genotype group of these postmenopausal women although the results are not statistically significant. The effect of rs229748 SNP did not contribute to the baseline of BMD as well as the baseline of bone turnover markers before the treatment.

A survey of osteoporosis in Thailand.

This survey of osteoporotic opinion was conducted to 150 Thai physicians in every part of the country with 10 questionnaires. The details of the questions concentrated on the osteoporosis in the aspects of diagnosis, management, methods of assessment, common medicine for treatment. The most responder specialty was Orthopedist (79%), others were Gynecologist (3%), Rheumatologist (5%), Internist (5%), the others (7%) respectively. The diagnosis of osteoporosis used Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), (81%) in the case of this equipment as well as other methods (16%) are available. The per cent of other methods are X-ray, clinical symptoms, microdensitometry, QUS, biochemical bone markers and others: 30, 23, 13, 5, 3 and 6 respectively. About twenty-five percent of physicians took responses to 21-100 cases per month while two per cent of responders had more than 100 cases per month. The most common three ranking kinds of criteria were used for initiating medication for the treatment of osteoporosis that had low bone mineral density, signs of vertebral fracture, and menopause which they considered as the importance of prophylactic medication for patients. The continuation of medication depends on the following factors: experience of serious side effect (62%), affordable expense (53%) and stable bone mass (52%). The desirable features of anti-osteoporosis agents are stopped fracture, increasing BMD, cost effectiveness, side effect, stopped bone resorption, pain relieve and drug compliance respectively. Calcium is most commonly prescribed on condition that premenopausal and postmenopausal women have without fracture or with fracture: patients are elderly and treated with the prolonged steroid application. Bisphosphonates are widely used in case of fracture in every group. Alfacalcidol, vitamin D analog is the third prescription in the above conditions. Bisphosphonate, Calcium and Alfacacidol are the common kinds of combination under the above conditions. In addition, these kinds of drugs are commonly used for continuation after the remission therapy.

Combination of alfacalcidol with calcium can improve quadriceps muscle strength in elderly ambulatory Thai women who have hypovitaminosis D: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of alfacalcidol and calcium on the improvement of muscle strength in ambulatory elderly Thai women in age group of 65 or more who have hypovitaminosis D. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Seventy-two postmenopausal women age 65 years or more were enrolled to this study. Blood was collected from all participants for measured of 25(OH)D3, intact PTH and vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotypes. After blood collection, the quadriceps muscle strength was measured using the isokinetic dynamometer device. There were 42 subjects who satisfy the eligible criteria and agreed to participate in the experimental randomized controlled study. These subjects were randomized into two groups, one received calcium 1500 g/day combined with alfacalcidol 0.5 mg/day. Another group received calcium 1500 g/day with placebo. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of intervention, 40 subjects had the second muscle strength measurement (2 dropped out). By ANCOVA analysis, there were significant improvement of muscle strength in the group that received alfacalcidol compared to placebo in both 30 degrees/sec (20.28 vs.16.29, p = 0.025) and 60 degrees/sec (20.32 vs. 15.05, p = 0.002) angular velocities. CONCLUSION: Daily doses of 0.5 mg alfacalcidol with calcium effectively improved muscle strength in elderly Thai women who had low level of 25(OH)D3 compared to calcium alone.

Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risk of non-selective NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors in elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence and risk profiles for gastrointestinal (GI) events and cardiovascular (CV) events in elderly patients (aged > or =60 years) with knee osteoarthritis using tNSAIDs (traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or coxibs users in patients with knee osteoarthritis aged > or =60 years. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study was applied. Data on prescription drug (NSAIDs, celecoxib, etoricoxib) was obtained from hospital database. Data on CV events and GI adverse events was obtained from the registry of the Cardiology Unit and Gastroesophagoscope Diagnosis Center, GI Center, Department of Internal medicine, Police General Hospital. Patients visiting the hospitals' outpatient clinics from June 2004 to June 2007 were included if they were aged > or =60 years and received at least one follow-up visit on the prescription of a tNSAIDNSAID or coxibs (etoricoxib or celecoxib). Patients with a history of gastrointestinal disease or heart disease were excluded. All patients were followed-up from their first visit to the date of their earliest event or to the end of the study period. The interested event was assumed to be attributed to the last prescription shown in the study period. RESULTS: A total 12,591 prescriptions from 1030 patients, an average of 4 prescriptions/patient/year, were screened -3,982 (31.6%) prescriptions were for NSAIDs, 4426 (35.2%) were for celecoxib, and 4183 (33.2%) were for etoricoxib. The most common traditional NSAID prescribed was meloxicam (24%), followed by nimesulide (21.4%) and naproxen (13.1%). The mean age of cohort was 69.6 years, with the majority being female (74%). We found a comparable dose of celecoxib (200 mg OD) and etoricoxib (90 mg OD) prescribed in the respective patients. A total of 78 gastrointestinal events occurred and Esophagogastroscopy indicated that 37 (47.4%) were dyspepsia, 22 (28.2%) were anemia (28.2%), 17 (21.7%) were upper GI bleeding, and 2 (2.6%) were others. Forty (40) of these events were attributed to NSAIDs, 21 to celecoxib and 17 to etoricoxib. Observed GI events included gastritis (50, 64.1%), gastric ulcer (14, 17.9%), duodenal ulcer (3, 3.8%), and normal (11, 14.1%). Patients receiving traditional NSAIDs, celecoxib and etoricoxib had 20, 18, and 11 CV events respectively. Of these 49 CV events, the most common was heart failure (20), followed by chronic heart failure (9), angina pectoris (9), unstable angina (6), and myocardial infarction (5). Comparing celecoxib with NSAID use in logistic regression analysis, patients who received celecoxib were significantly less likely to suffer GI events than those who received NSAIDs; OR = 0.36 (95% CI 0.21-0.63, p = 0.00.). Similarly, etoricoxib was less likely to cause GI events than NSAIDs; OR = 0.52 (95% CI 0.28-0.98, p = 0.04). Comparing to patients aged under 60 years, patients aged >70 years had a significantly higher chance of developing GI events, OR = 1.79 (95% CI 1.13-2.4) for patients aged 70-80 years and 3.36 (95% CI 1.78-5.81) for those aged > 80 years. Drug exposure time, which was defined as the number of days of medication supplied significantly increased the GI risks. For CV event, there were only 3 significantly associated with CV events -female (OR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.16-0.59, p = 0.00), age >80 years (OR = 2.98, 95% CI 1.57-4.23, p = 0.00), and drug exposure time (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.54, p = 0.00). CONCLUSION: Incidence of GI and CV events was lower for coxibs than for NSAIDs and celecoxib had a lower incidence than etoricoxib. Patients with advanced age and higher drug exposure time had a significantly increased risk ofGI; the use of gastroprotective agents significantly decreased GI risks. Being female, advanced age, and drug exposure time significantly affected CV events.

Impact of bone marker feedback on adherence to once monthly ibandronate for osteoporosis among Asian postmenopausal women.

AIM: This study assesses the impact of serum carboxy-terminal collagen crosslinks (CTX) bone marker feedback (BMF) on adherence to ibandronate treatment in Asian postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. METHODS: This was a 12-month (6-monthly phased), randomized, prospective, open-label, multi-center study conducted in 596 (of 628 enrolled) postmenopausal women with osteoporosis (< or = 85 years old) who were naïve, lapsed, or current bisphosphonate users. Patients were randomized into two arms: serum CTX BMF at 3 months versus no-BMF. Once-monthly 150 mg ibandronate tablet was administered for 12 months and adherence to therapy was assessed at 6 and 12 months. In addition, patient satisfaction and safety of ibandronate treatment were also assessed. RESULTS: Serum CTX BMF at 3 months showed no impact on adherence. The proportions of adherent patients were comparable in the BMF versus no-BMF arms (92.6%vs. 96.0%, P = 0.16); overall, serum CTX levels were similar for adherent and non-adherent patients. However, BMF patients felt more informed about their osteoporosis (P < 0.001) and more satisfied (P < 0.01) than no-BMF patients. CONCLUSIONS: The Asian postmenopausal osteoporosis patients in this study had a high adherence rate to once-monthly ibandronate therapy. Use of serum CTX BMF had no further impact on increasing adherence, but increased treatment satisfaction.

Combined clinical risk indices with quantitative ultrasound calcaneus measurement for identifying osteoporosis in Thai postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the diagnostic performance of clinical risk indices combined with quantitative ultrasound calcaneus measurement (QUS) for identifying osteoporosis in Thai postmenopausal women. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The present study was designed as a cross-sectional investigation in 300 Thai women, aged between 38 and 85 years (mean age: 58). Femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by DXA (Hologic QDR-4500; Hologic, Bedford, MA, USA). A BMD T-scores < or = -2.5 was defined as "osteoporosis"; otherwise, "non-osteoporosis". QUS was measured by Achilles+ (GE Lunar, Madison, WI, USA) and converted to T-score. The OSTA and KKOS score was calculated for each woman using her age and weight Women with OSTA/KKOS scores < or = -1 and > -1 were classified as "high risk" and "low risk", respectively. RESULTS: Using DXA as the gold standard, the sensitivity of QUS to identify osteoporosis was lower than the sensitivity of OSTA/KKOS (60 vs. 71/74%) but the specificity and PPV of QUS were higher than OSTA/KKOS. The sensitivity increased when using OSTA/KKOS combined with QUS to identify osteoporosis (approximately 87-89%) while the specificity, PPV and NPV were comparable with using clinical risk indices alone. The risk (odds ratio; OR) of osteoporosis when QUS T-score < or = -2.5 alone was 9.94 (95%CI: 4.74-20.87), which was higher than high risk by OSTA/KKOS alone (OR: 6.35, 95%CI: 2.99-13.47 for OSTA and 8.15, 95%CI: 3.76-17.66 for KKOS). Furthermore, individuals were classified "high risk" from OSTA/KKOS with QUS T-score < or = -2.5SD, the risk of osteoporosis was increased (OR: 43.68, 95%CI: 13.89-137.36 and OR: 60.92, 95%CI: 17.69-209.76 for OSTA and KKOS, respectively). CONCLUSION: Using the clinical risk indices combined with QUS could improve the accuracy of osteoporosis identification. This approach could be used in a primary care setting or community-based hospital where a DXA machine is not available.

Application of Gabapentin in Thai women with menopausal syndrome.

Application of 100 mg. three times a day of Gabapentin group, 70 women to relieve menopausal syndrome with the following symptoms:Paresthesia,sweating, hot flushes in a comparative study with the amitriptyline group, 52 women 10 mg once daily. Analysis of data was done by Chi square which assumed that the Gabapentin is superior to amitripyline as accept alternative hypothesis (Ha) and other reject null hypothesis(H0) assumed both have the same action. The result of Chi square showed that the value of calculated Chi square (39.32) is higher than Table Chi square (6.63) at p < 0.01 so the authors have to accept that Ha means that Gabapentin therapy is more significantly effective than amitripyline(p < 0.01). In addition, the present study showed that the number need to treat (NNT) of Gabapentin =2.

The correlation of Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy and histological response in determining the percentage of tumor necrosis in osteosarcoma after preoperative chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: The most important prognostic factor of osteosarcoma is the percentage of tumor necrosis. Only well trained and experienced musculoskeletal pathologists can count and assess the percentage of tumor necrosis from the resected specimens. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the correlation of Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy for assessing the percentage of tumor necrosis using postoperative histology as a gold standard. MATERIAL AND METHOD: During September 2002 to August 2004, nine consecutive patients with the diagnosis of conventional osteosarcoma were included in the present study. The osteosarcoma protocol comprises 3 courses of doxorubicin and cisplatin preoperatively followed by wide resection of tumors and another 3 courses of postoperative chemotherapy. The Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy examination was carried out before commencing chemotherapy and after completing preoperative chemotherapy. The tumor uptake was measured using the tumor to the background ratio (TBR). Comparison of TBR before and after preoperative chemotherapy was used to calculate the alteration ratio which was reported in terms of percentage. All of the resected specimens were sent to the pathological department. The histological assessment of the response to chemotherapy was performed using the standard technique according to the current practice of osteosarcoma from the Mayo Clinic. The percentages of tumor necrosis from histology were also reported. RESULTS: The analysis of the correlation between the reduction of tracer uptake and the postoperative histological response was performed. The correlation and linear regression analysis showed that the two methods had a significant correlation (R = 0.75) regression coefficient (1.172) with p = 0.020 and 0.043, respectively. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy had a significant correlation with percentage of tumor necrosis from histology. This technique can be used to predict the response of osteosarcoma after preoperative chemotherapy.