Diagnostic accuracy of quantitative dual-energy CT-based volumetric bone mineral density assessment for the prediction of osteoporosis-associated fractures.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To evaluate the predictive value of volumetric bone mineral density (BMD) assessment of the lumbar spine derived from phantomless dual-energy CT (DECT)-based volumetric material decomposition as an indicator for the 2-year occurrence risk of osteoporosis-associated fractures.

METHODS:

L1 of 92 patients (46 men, 46 women; mean age, 64 years, range, 19-103 years) who had undergone third-generation dual-source DECT between 01/2016 and 12/2018 was retrospectively analyzed. For phantomless BMD assessment, dedicated DECT postprocessing software using material decomposition was applied. Digital files of all patients were sighted for 2 years following DECT to obtain the incidence of osteoporotic fractures. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to calculate cut-off values and logistic regression models were used to determine associations of BMD, sex, and age with the occurrence of osteoporotic fractures.

RESULTS:

A DECT-derived BMD cut-off of 93.70 mg/cm3 yielded 85.45% sensitivity and 89.19% specificity for the prediction to sustain one or more osteoporosis-associated fractures within 2 years after BMD measurement. DECT-derived BMD was significantly associated with the occurrence of new fractures (odds ratio of 0.8710, 95% CI, 0.091-0.9375, p < .001), indicating a protective effect of increased DECT-derived BMD values. Overall AUC was 0.9373 (CI, 0.867-0.977, p < .001) for the differentiation of patients who sustained osteoporosis-associated fractures within 2 years of BMD assessment.

CONCLUSIONS:

Retrospective DECT-based volumetric BMD assessment can accurately predict the 2-year risk to sustain an osteoporosis-associated fracture in at-risk patients without requiring a calibration phantom. Lower DECT-based BMD values are strongly associated with an increased risk to sustain fragility fractures.

KEY POINTS:

•Dual-energy CT-derived assessment of bone mineral density can identify patients at risk to sustain osteoporosis-associated fractures with a sensitivity of 85.45% and a specificity of 89.19%. •The DECT-derived BMD threshold for identification of at-risk patients lies above the American College of Radiology (ACR) QCT guidelines for the identification of osteoporosis (93.70 mg/cm3 vs 80 mg/cm3).

• Authors: Leon D Gruenewald, Vitali Koch, Simon S Martin, Ibrahim Yel, Katrin Eichler, Tatjana Gruber-Rouh, Lukas Lenga, Julian L Wichmann, Leona S Alizadeh, Moritz H Albrecht, Christoph Mader, Nicole A Huizinga, Tommaso D'Angelo, Silvio Mazziotti, Stefan Wesarg, Thomas J Vogl, Christian Booz
• Journal: European radiology (Eur Radiol) Vol. 32 Issue 5 Pg. 3076-3084 (May 2022) ISSN: 1432-1084 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 34713330 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2021. The Author(s).

Topics

• Absorptiometry, Photon
• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Bone Density
• Female
• Humans
• Lumbar Vertebrae (diagnostic imaging)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Osteoporosis (complications, diagnostic imaging, epidemiology)
• Osteoporotic Fractures (diagnostic imaging, epidemiology)
• Retrospective Studies
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• Young Adult