Short term in vivo precision of whole body composition measurements on the Horizon A densitometer.

Introduction: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is increasingly being used to assess abnormalities in body composition associated with a wide variety of conditions including obesity, sarcopenia, diabetes, anorexia, human immunodeficiency virus lipodystrophy, malabsorption and neuromuscular disorders The objective of this study was to determine the short-term in vivo precision and least significant change in serial body composition measurements provided by the Hologic Horizon A densitometer as there is no published, peer reviewed body composition precision data on Horizon scanners in the medical literature.

Methods: After acquiring two new Hologic Horizon A densitometers, short term precision scanning was performed on the two scanners using different groups of 30 volunteers, who had duplicate scans with all scans performed by the same operator. Using the International Society of Clinical Densitometry's advanced precision tool, the scan data were recorded and the coefficient of variation (CV) and least significant change (LSC) determined for total fat, lean and bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD).

Impact of androgen suppression and zoledronic acid on bone mineral density and fractures in the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) 03.04 Randomised Androgen Deprivation and Radiotherapy (RADAR) randomized controlled trial for locally advanced prostate cancer.

Objective: To study the influence of adjuvant androgen suppression and bisphosphonates on incident vertebral and non-spinal fracture rates and bone mineral density (BMD) in men with locally advanced prostate cancer.

Patients And Methods: Between 2003 and 2007, 1071 men with locally advanced prostate cancer were randomly allocated, using a 2 × 2 trial design, to 6 months i.m.

The use of antithrombotics in patients presenting with stroke and atrial fibrillation.

Antithrombotics have been shown to decrease the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However they are associated with an increased risk of bleeding. We assessed the frequency and appropriateness of antithrombotic therapy in patients admitted to our service with stroke and AF.

Physiological associations of computerized tomography lung density: a factor analysis.

Background: Objective quantification of emphysema using computerized tomography (CT) density measurements is rapidly gaining wide acceptance as an in vivo measurement tool. However, some studies have suggested that abnormal lung function in the absence of emphysema can affect lung density, and the role of such measurements in identifying and monitoring the progression of emphysema is not clear.

Objective: To clarify the relationship between lung density measurements and pulmonary function.

Utility of lung density measurements in the diagnosis of emphysema.

Background: The role of computerised tomography (CT) lung density measurements in objective quantification of emphysema is uncertain. The aim of this study was to determine normal reference values for CT lung density measurements and investigate their utility in identifying subjects with clinical emphysema.

Methods: Normal subjects (non-smokers, no respiratory disease, n=185) and subjects with clinical emphysema (post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC <70%, > or =10 pack years tobacco smoking, no childhood asthma and, either D(LCO)/VA <80% predicted and/or macroscopic emphysema on CT, n=22) were identified from a random population survey.

A magnetic resonance imaging analysis of the infraclavicular region: can brachial plexus depth be estimated before needle insertion?

In this study we examined the anatomy of the infraclavicular region to assess the possibility of estimating brachial plexus depth before performing an infraclavicular block, by using readily identifiable landmarks such as the coracoid process (CP) and the clavicle (CL). Four parasagittal planes across the infraclavicular region were analyzed in 21 individual series of magnetic resonance imaging studies. Measurements included distance to the plexus from the skin of the anterior chest wall, position of the plexus relative to the CL, and clavicular width.