Consider fracture risk data when prescribing preventive drug tx.(Gynecology)

NEW ORLEANS -- Giving primary care physicians quantitative information about fracture risk can help them make more judicious use of preventive drug therapy for postmenopausal women at below-average risk for osteoporosis, Joan M. Neuner, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

In a national survey targeting a random sample of primary care physicians, those who received lifetime and 5-year quantitative fracture risk estimates along with bone mineral density (BMD) reports were less likely than those given standard BMD reports to recommend preventive prescription drugs for a 70-year-old, average-weight woman with a T score of -1.01, Dr. Neuner reported.

The survey included nationally representative proportions of general internists, family physicians, general practitioners, and ob.gyns. The physicians were asked to respond to four clinical vignettes that varied with regard to patient age, weight, and hip BMD. The survey also included Likertscaled items to measure osteoporosis knowledge, attitude, and screening preferences.

Of the respondents, 141 randomly received standard hip BMD measures for each vignette (reported as g/c[m.sup.2] with T score and z score), and 138 received augmented BMD reports, which included quantitative lifetime and 5-year risk fracture estimates derived from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. For each vignette, the physicians were asked to estimate the patient's hip fracture risk, compared with average-risk women of ...