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Clinical Evaluation of Bone Health

Osteoporosis is a disorder of bone mineralization and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in older individuals.

• Children and adolescents are building bone and should achieve peak bone mass in early adulthood.
• Ensuring adequate mineralization of bone during growth so as to maximize peak bone mass should decrease the risk of osteoporosis and fracture in later life.
• Pediatric patients do not have the same issues with fractures as do older adults, but some are at risk for poor bone health.

Risk Factors

Risk factors for poor bone mineralization in children and adolescents include:

• Chronic illness,
• Poor intake of calcium or vitamin D,
• Malabsorption (Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, short gut syndrome),
• Chronic steroid use,
• Musculoskeletal disorders which limit weight bearing activities,
• History of multiple fractures, and
• Family history of osteoporosis.

DXA

• Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is one means of measuring bone mineralization and estimating bone strength and fracture risk.
• The Pediatric Bone Densitometry Service, available through �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health’s Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, offers bone densitometry and body composition testing in children ages three through 19 years.
• Utilizing fan beam technology to acquire an areal image, DXA yields both bone mass and body composition (fat and lean tissue) results. We are uniquely equipped to scan children and provide meaningful age and gender-matched reference data for evaluation of individual bone health status.
• While the exact relationship between DXA data and fracture risk is less understood in pediatrics, there is good normative data available to identify individuals with poor bone mineralization.

Experience

• Our technicians possess over 15 years of experience acquiring DXA in children of all capacities, and are knowledgeable about non-standard scan types such as the lateral distal femur technique.
• Our interpreting physician is board certified in pediatrics and the subspecialty pediatric endocrinology, and has over 14 years of experience working with pediatric metabolic bone disorders.
• All staff are licensed by the State of Utah and have received professional certification in their respective fields of bone densitometry from the International Society of Clinical Densitometry (ISCD).
• ISCD’s Certified Bone Densitometry Technologist (CBDT) credential signifies that an individual has passed an examination designed to meet established industry standards and best practices in the field of bone densitometry.
• The Certified Clinical Densitometrist (CCD) credential recognizes medical practitioners who meet specified knowledge requirements in the field of bone densitometry as measured through a standardized testing process.

Refer a Patient

• Patient's Name and DOB
• Diagnosis or indication for DXA scan
• Referring physician's name

Scheduling

801-213-3599

Referrals

801-587-7539

Questions

801-585-6227

Parking & Directions

From the hospital entrance- Take the visitor or patient elevators to the 3rd floor of the main hospital building. We are located in the Neuro Acute Care (“NAC”) Unit. Turn right off the elevators, and right down the hall, towards the NAC. The DXA room is across the hall from the nurses station, around the corner from the drinking fountain.