Doctors should check for hidden spine fractures in routine bone scans, says NICE

Clinicians should carry out a straightforward spine check during routine bone scans to help detect osteoporosis problems sooner, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended.In new draft guidance the medicine watchdog recommends that practitioners should carry out a vertebral fracture assessment during routine bone scans.1 This additional check, which takes only a few minutes, could help identify spine fractures and allow preventive measures to help avoid significant pain and disability from bone breaks later in life, it advises.An estimated 70% of spine fractures caused by osteoporosis currently go undiagnosed because often there are no clear symptoms initially, said NICE, which estimates that hidden spine fractures affect around 2.2 million people.The draft guidance said that clinicians should consider offering these checks during dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) bone mineral density scans for people over 50. Evidence showed that this was a cost effective measure because it…