Clinical Library

Introduction: Instant Vertebral Assessment (IVA) has become a valuable and increasingly utilized tool to assess patients at risk of osteoporosis for the presence of vertebral fractures. During an IVA scan, sufficient soft tissue anterior to the lumbar spine can be included to allow for the detection of calcified plaques in the abdominal aorta. There is good agreement between IVA and lateral radiographs for the detection of AAC,12 similar to the agreement between the two modalities for vertebral fracture detection.13, 14 Thus, the same diagnostic test can be used to measure strong risk factors for two highly prevalent public health problems, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.      

Abstract: The ability to monitor patient response to osteoporosis therapy with DXA depends on long-term in vivo precision and expected treatment response to therapy at a particular region. A review of recent peer-reviewed literature (57 studies) of short-term in vivo coefficient of variations (CV’s) found a statistically significant difference between manufacturers for the AP spine and femoral neck, but not for the total hip.