Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 May;42(5):574-83.
doi: 10.1007/s00247-011-2307-9. Epub 2012 Jan 18.

Lumbar spine and total-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in children with severe neurological impairment and intellectual disability: a pilot study of artefacts and disrupting factors

S Mergler  1 , R Rieken, D Tibboel, H M Evenhuis, R R van Rijn, C Penning
Affiliations

Lumbar spine and total-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in children with severe neurological impairment and intellectual disability: a pilot study of artefacts and disrupting factors

S Mergler et al. Pediatr Radiol. 2012 May.

Abstract

Background: Children with severe neurological impairment and intellectual disability (ID) are susceptible for developing low bone mineral density (BMD) and fractures. BMD is generally measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Objective: To describe the occurrence of factors that may influence the feasibility of DXA and the accuracy of DXA outcome in children with severe neurological impairment and ID.

Materials and methods: Based on literature and expert opinion, a list of disrupting factors was developed. Occurrence of these factors was assessed in 27 children who underwent DXA measurement.

Results: Disrupting factors that occurred most frequently were movement during measurement (82%), aberrant body composition (67%), small length for age (56%) and scoliosis (37%). The number of disrupting factors per child was mean 5.3 (range 1-8). No correlation was found between DXA outcomes and the number of disrupting factors.

Conclusion: Factors that may negatively influence the accuracy of DXA outcome are frequently present in children with severe neurological impairment and ID. No systematic deviation of DXA outcome in coherence with the amount of disrupting factors was found, but physicians should be aware of the possible influence of disrupting factors on the accuracy of DXA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Two examples of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in children with severe neurological impairment and ID. a An 11-year-old girl with severe scoliosis. b A 5-year-old girl with an intracorporal medical device
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Henderson RC, Lin PP, Greene WB. Bone-mineral density in children and adolescents who have spastic cerebral palsy. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1995;77:1671–1681. - PubMed
    1. Zacharin M. Current advances in bone health of disabled children. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2004;16:545–551. doi: 10.1097/01.mop.0000138679.70932.90. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hough JP, Boyd RN, Keating JL (2010) Systematic review of interventions for low bone mineral density in children with cerebral palsy. Pediatrics 125:e670-678. - PubMed
    1. Henderson RC, Kairalla JA, Barrington JW, et al. Longitudinal changes in bone density in children and adolescents with moderate to severe cerebral palsy. J Pediatr. 2005;146:769–775. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2005.02.024. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Henderson RC, Lark RK, Gurka MJ, et al. Bone density and metabolism in children and adolescents with moderate to severe cerebral palsy. Pediatrics. 2002;110:e5. doi: 10.1542/peds.110.1.e5. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms