Increasing soft tissue thickness does not affect trabecular bone score reproducibility: a phantom study.

Purpose: Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) provides an indirect score of trabecular microarchitecture from lumbar spine (LS) dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Increasing soft tissue thickness artifactually reduces TBS values; we evaluated the effect of a fictitious increase of soft tissue thickness on TBS and bone mineral density (BMD) reproducibility on a phantom model.

Methods: A Hologic spine phantom was scanned with a QDR-Discovery W Hologic densitometer.

Relevant incidental findings at abdominal multi-detector contrast-enhanced computed tomography: A collateral screening?

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of relevant incidental findings (RIFs) detected during routine abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CeCT).

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the reports of a consecutive series of abdominal CeCT studies performed between January and May 2013. For each report, patients' age and sex, admission as inpatient or outpatient, clinical suspicion as indicated by the requesting physician, availability of a previous abdominal examination, and name of the reporting radiologist were recorded.

Short-term precision assessment of trabecular bone score and bone mineral density using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry with different scan modes: an in vivo study.

Objectives: We estimated the in vivo reproducibility of trabecular bone score (TBS) from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) using different imaging modes to be compared to that of bone mineral density (BMD).

Methods: We enrolled 30 patients for each imaging mode: fast-array, array, high definition. Each patient underwent two DXA examinations with in-between repositioning.

Managing osteoporosis in ulcerative colitis: something new?

The authors revise the latest evidence in the literature regarding managing of osteoporosis in ulcerative colitis (UC), paying particular attention to the latest tendency of the research concerning the management of bone damage in the patient affected by UC. It is wise to assess vitamin D status in ulcerative colitis patients to recognize who is predisposed to low levels of vitamin D, whose deficiency has to be treated with oral or parenteral vitamin D supplementation. An adequate dietary calcium intake or supplementation and physical activity, if possible, should be guaranteed.