OBJECTIVE: International studies have pointed out quantitative ultrasound as an important method to assess bone fragility and risk of fracture. This study was performed to compare quantitative ultrasound (QUS) in two groups of Brazilian women, those with a fracture and those with no previous history of fracture. The aim was to assess whether there was any difference between the right and the left foot s and whether two sequential measurements in each foot were statistically equivalent... METHODS: A total of 52 women, 26 with and 26 with no fractures, matched by age (± 2 years), years since menopause (± 2 years), and body mass index (kg/m²) (± 2) were evaluated. RESULTS: Results were compared by the Student's t test for matched samples. Values (mean ± SD) for the stiffness index (SI) were 54.9 (± 16.6) and 80.4 (± 17.3), and for the T Score were -2.9 (± 0.94) and -1.3 (± 0.95) for the groups with and with no fractures, respectively. The first and second measurements of the SI for the right foot and the mean measurement of each foot were found similar when compared. There was a statistical significance (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The QUS was shown to distinguish between women with and with no fractures. Also, no differences were observed in the QUS of the left or right foot as well as in the first or second measurements of each foot in the women under study.
Osteoporosis; Ultrasound; Bones; Bone Density; Postmenopausal osteoporosis
