Abstract
Although the centralized, aggressive treatment of pulmonary disease has prolonged the life expectancy of pts with CF, most of these pts., especially the older ones, are chronically ill. Undermineralization of their skeletal system is not unexpected. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) of the vertebrae is a new technique for assessing the trabecular bone mineral content (BMC) in the axial skeleton. The turnover rate of the trabecular bone is eight times greater than that of cortical bone, rendering QCT a highly sensitive method for measuring early metabolic changes.
We measured the BMC in 66 pts with CF, (27 M, 39 F), age 3-48 yrs., and compared the results with 120 age-matched controls. Forty-four (23 M, 21 F) of the 66 (66.7%) were below the mean for their age. Twelve (4 M, 8 F) of the 66 (18.2%) were 2 SD below the mean. When the pts with low BMC were matched to their nutritional status, using Wt for Ht, tricep skin fold, and arm muscle area as criteria of their degree of malnurishment, there was a high correlation with each parameter. The reduced BMC's were, however, not found to be related with serum Ca or albumin levels. The BMC's of 22 pts (4 M, 18 F) in the present group were above the mean for their age-matched controls. None were 2 SD above the mean. The predominence of females (81.8%) in this group was quite surprising in that males with CF were known to do better than the females.
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Gibbens, D., Duffer, D., Wang, CI. et al. A STUDY OF BONE MINERALIZATION IN PATIENTS (Pts) WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS (CF). Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 268 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00603
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00603