The Prevalence of Osteoporosis in the Thoracic Surgery Patient Population: An Opportunity Assessment from Thorax CT Scans

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of osteoporosis in thoracic surgery patients and highlight the clinical significance for physicians. Methods: Thoracic computed tomographies(CT) of 306 patients were examined for medullary density of T12 vertebra. Hounsfield units (HU) between men and women; under the age of 70 and those who are "70 years and older" groups were compared. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the age parameter in predicting osteoporosis, ROC analysis, and logistic regression analysis were used. The rib cortical defects identified in this study group and their causes were explained. Results: HUs of 51 subjects (or 16.7%) was less than 110 (osteoporosis); of 177 people (57.8%) was higher than 160 (normal). HU values ranged from 111 to 159 (borderline) for 78 individuals (25.5%). There was no significant difference between males and females. It was discovered that the difference between the population under 70 and the population over 70 was statistically significant (p