Orthopaedic & Rheumatologic Institute Outcomes

Glucocorticoid use is associated with bone loss and fractures. The 2017 American College of Rheumatology guidelines on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis recommend a dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan for patients on glucocorticoid therapy for 3 months or more¹. Cardiac transplant recipients receive glucocorticoids for more than 3 months after surgery to prevent organ rejection. Fewer than 15% of transplant patients had DXA scans before or within 6 months after transplant in 2001. Collaboration between the Transplant and Osteoporosis Centers since 2001 has markedly improved the frequency of DXA scans in cardiac transplant patients before or within 6 months after transplant surgery. Between 74% and 100% of cardiac transplant patients since 2018 have had a bone evaluation with DXA scan.

¹Buckley L, Guyatt G, Fink HA, Cannon M, Grossman J, Hansen KE, Humphrey MB, Lane NE, Magrey M, Miller M, Morrison L, Rao M, Robinson AB, Saha S, Wolver S, Bannuru RR, Vaysbrot E, Osani M, Turgunbaev M, Miller AS, McAlindon T. 2017 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017 Aug;69(8):1521-1537