TY - JOUR
TI - The effects of calcitonin on acute bone loss after pertrochanteric
fractures - A prospective, randomised trial
AU - Karachalios, T
AU - Lyritis, GP
AU - Kaloudis, J
AU - Roidis, N and
AU - Katsiri, M
JO - JOURNAL OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY. BRITISH VOLUME
PY - 2004
VL - 86B
TODO - 3
SP - 350-358
PB - BRITISH EDITORIAL SOC BONE & JOINT SURGERY
SN - 0301-620X
TODO - 10.1302/0301-620X.86B3.14300
TODO - null
TODO - We investigated the effect of calcitonin in the prevention of acute bone
loss after a pertrochanteric fracture and its ability to reduce the
incidence of further fractures in the same patient.
Fifty women aged between 70 and 80 years who had a pertrochanteric
fracture of the hip were randomly allocated to group A (200 IU of nasal
salmon calcitonin daily for three months) or group B (placebo).
Patients in group A showed a significantly higher level of total
alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin on the 15th day after injury and a
significantly higher level of bone alkaline phosphatase on the 90th day
after surgery. These patients also had significantly lower levels of
urinary C-telopeptide (CrossLaps) on the 15th, 45th and 90th days after
injury and lower levels of urinary hydroxyproline on the 15th and 45th
days after injury. Patients in group A had significantly higher bone
mineral density at all recorded sites except the greater trochanter at
three months and one year after operation. After a four-year period of
clinical observation, five patients (24%) in group B sustained a new
fracture, in four of whom (20%) it was of the contralateral hip.
Our findings show that calcitonin reduces acute bone loss in patients
with pertrochanteric fractures and may prevent the occurrence of new
fractures of the contralateral hip in the elderly.
ER -