Treatment and Management of Osteoporotic Fractures: A Nation-wide Survey of 484 Senior Orthopaedists in China

Summary of best evidence for self-management in postoperative osteoporotic fracture patients

Osteoporotic fracture as a serious complication of osteoporosis which is usually treated surgically, and its recovery is closely related to one's own behavior and lifestyle, and is a long-term, complex management process that often requires the individual to self-manage many health-related factors.

OBJECTIVE

To gather and synthesize the most robust evidence regarding self-management in patients with postoperative osteoporotic fractures, in order to provide scientific, evidence-based guidance for clinical healthcare professionals to assist postoperative patients in self-management efforts, and to assist patients in optimizing their self-management practices and behavioral norms.

METHODS

Based on the "6 S" pyramid model of evidence resources (System, Summaries, Synopses of synthesis, Syntheses, Synopses of studies, Studies), we searched the Up To Date, BMJ Best Practice, The Cochrane Library, Australian Joanna Briggs Institute JBI Evidence-Based Medicine Center Healthcare Database, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), Guidelines International Network (GIN), National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guide lines Network (SIGN), MedPulse, Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, SinoMed, Chinese Medical Journal Full Text Database, CNKI, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and VIP database, etc, The search period for clinical decision-making, systematic evaluation, clinical guidelines, evidence summaries and expert consensus on self-management of postoperative osteoporotic fracture patients, and it was from the establishment of the database to 18 February 2023. To ensure the quality of the literature, three researchers strictly screened the literature according to the literature inclusion and exclusion criteria, and two or more researchers independently evaluated the quality of the included literature, and extracted and integrated the relevant evidence.

RESULTS

Thirteen documents were finally included, including 4 clinical practice guidelines, 5 expert consensus, 2 recommended practices, 1 systematic evaluation, and 1 clinical decision report. The research team summarized the evidence in 6 dimensions: multidisciplinary teamwork, management of daily living, management of treatment adherence, management of exercise, management of fall prevention and subsequent fracture, and management of emotions, and 33 pieces of evidence were extracted.

CONCLUSION

The study summarized 33 best evidence of self-management in postoperative osteoporotic fracture patients, which provides a scientific and reasonable self-management program for postoperative patients, and also provides important reference and information for clinical healthcare professionals to provide more comprehensive and scientific self-management health education to patients.

Bindarit Reduces Bone Loss in Ovariectomized Mice by Inhibiting CCL2 and CCL7 Expression via the NF-κB Signaling Pathway

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the changes in proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, namely, C-C motif ligand (CCL) 2 and CCL7, in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) and to develop a new drug, bindarit (Bnd), for PMOP in an ovariectomized (OVX) mouse model.

METHODS

Bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) from the femurs of five women with PMOP and five premenopausal women without osteoporosis were detected by RNA sequencing. BMMs from mice were differentiated into osteoclasts and treated with a synthetic inhibitor of CCL2 and CCL7, Bnd, or 17 beta estradiol (E2 ). Mouse BMMs were differentiated into osteoclasts with or without Bnd for 7 days and analyzed by RNA sequencing. Osteoblasts of mice were induced to undergo osteoblastogenesis and treated with Bnd. OVX mice were treated with E2 or Bnd after surgery. The protein and mRNA expression of CCL2 and CCL7 was detected using immunostaining and qPCR, respectively, in OVX and aged mice and in cells cultured in vitro. Osteoclast formation was detected using a tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) assay in vitro and in vivo. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteocalcin (OCN) were detected using immunostaining to evaluate osteogenesis. Microcomputed tomography was conducted to analyze trabecular bone parameters, the structure model index, bone mineral density and other variables. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway-related protein phosphorylation of IKKα/β (p-IKKα/β) and p-NFκB p65 was examined using western blotting.

RESULTS

CCL2, CCL7 and their receptor of C-C chemokine receptor-2 (CCR2), and the NF-κB signaling pathway, were significantly increased in women with PMOP. CCL2 and CCL7 protein and mRNA expression was increased in OVX mice and aged female mice, but the increases were attenuated by E2 and Bnd. E2 and Bnd effectively inhibited osteoclastogenesis and the protein expression of CCL2 and CCL7 both in vitro and in vivo and reduced bone loss in OVX mice. Bnd did not affect the mineralization of osteoblasts directly in vitro but reduced bone turnover in vivo. p-IKKα/β and p-NFκB p65 levels were increased in BMMs of mice after differentiation into osteoclasts but were significantly decreased by Bnd.

CONCLUSION

The proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines CCL2, CCL7 and CCR2 were correlated with PMOP. Bnd attenuated the increases in CCL2 and CCL7 levels to affect osteoporosis in OVX mice via the NFκB signaling pathway. Thus, Bnd may be useful as a new therapeutic for the prevention of PMOP.

Romosozumab or alendronate for fracture prevention in East Asian patients: a subanalysis of the phase III, randomized ARCH study

Romosozumab, a sclerostin antibody, exerts dual effect to increase bone formation and decrease bone resorption. Among high-risk postmenopausal East Asian women, romosozumab followed by alendronate was associated with lower incidences of fractures vs alendronate alone. Romosozumab demonstrates potential to address an unmet need in osteoporosis management in Asia.

INTRODUCTION

Romosozumab, a sclerostin antibody, exerts dual effect to increase bone formation and decrease bone resorption. The global ARCH study demonstrated superiority of romosozumab followed by alendronate in reducing fracture risk in high-risk postmenopausal osteoporotic women vs alendronate alone. We report outcomes among ARCH East Asian patients.

METHODS

In ARCH, 4093 postmenopausal osteoporotic women with fragility fracture were randomized 1:1 to monthly romosozumab 210 mg or weekly alendronate 70 mg for 12 months, both followed by open-label alendronate. Primary endpoints were incidence of new vertebral fracture (VF) at 24 months and clinical fracture at primary analysis (confirmed fractures in ≥ 330 patients and all patients had opportunity to attend month 24 visit). This post hoc analysis was not powered to detect fracture-rate differences.

RESULTS

This analysis included 275 patients from Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan. Romosozumab followed by alendronate reduced risk of new VFs at 24 months by 60% (P = 0.11) and clinical fractures at primary analysis by 44% (P = 0.15) vs alendronate alone. Romosozumab followed by alendronate significantly increased mean bone mineral density at 24 months from baseline by a further 9.0%, 3.3%, and 3.0% at the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck vs alendronate alone. Adverse event (AE) rates, including positively adjudicated serious cardiovascular AEs (1.6% vs 1.4% at 12 months for romosozumab vs alendronate), were similar across treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Consistent with the global analysis, romosozumab followed by alendronate was associated with lower incidences of new vertebral, clinical, non-vertebral, and hip fractures vs alendronate alone among East Asian patients.

East meets West: current practices and policies in the management of musculoskeletal aging

Healthy aging is defined as the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age. Healthy aging is dependent upon intrinsic capacity, a composite of physical and mental capacities, and the environment an individual inhabits and their interactions with it. Maintenance of musculoskeletal health during aging is a key determinant of functional ability. Sarcopenia, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, are a triad of musculoskeletal diseases of aging that are major contributors to the global burden of disease and disability worldwide. The prevention and management of these disorders is of increasing importance with pressure mounting from the aging population. In a new initiative, the Chinese Medical Association, Chinese Society of Osteoporosis and Bone Mineral Research, and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases jointly organized a symposium to discuss current practices and policies in the management of musculoskeletal aging. The meeting allowed experts from Europe and China to share their experience and recommendations for the management of these three major diseases. Discussing and analyzing similarities and differences in their practice should lead, through a mutual enrichment of knowledge, to better management of these diseases, in order to preserve intrinsic capacity and retard the age-related degradation of physical ability. In future, it is hoped that sharing of knowledge and best practice will advance global strategies to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal disease and promote healthy aging tailored to meet the individual patient’s needs.

Osteoporotic Fracture Guidelines and Medical Education Related to the Clinical Practices: A Nationwide Survey in China

Objectives

To investigate the knowledge and practices of Chinese doctors in the management of osteoporotic fractures after the Chinese osteoporotic fracture guidelines update and aseries of medical education in 2017.

Methods

This was a cross‐sectional survey of doctors in 71 cities across Mainland China. Based on the 2017 Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporotic fractures, a questionnaire was designed and pre‐tested for reliability and validity. Doctors were surveyed with the questionnaire after scientific meetings during February 2017 to January 2018 through WeChat or conference digital platforms or in paper form. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the responses to the questionnaire.

Results

Overall, 314 valid questionnaires were confirmed. Regarding diagnosis, 77% agreed that osteoporosis could be diagnosed once an osteoporotic fracture occurred; 83% believed that the bone mineral density criteria for osteoporosis diagnosis would be T ≤ −2.5 SD. For treatment, almost all (99.7%) agreed with anti‐osteoporosis treatment being one of the basic principles of osteoporotic fracture treatment; 71.6% considered bisphosphonates as the most commonly used anti‐osteoporosis drug; 97% believed that patients who have used anti‐osteoporosis drugs should reassess osteoporosis after osteoporotic fractures instead of discontinue; 95% thought that the patients who did not use anti‐osteoporosis medications before osteoporotic fracture should be treated with anti‐osteoporosis drugs after fracture treatment as early as possible; 89% agreed that the standard use of bisphosphonates after osteoporotic fracture would not affect bone healing adversely; 59% believed the course of bisphosphonates treatment for osteoporosis would be 3–5 years, and 27% considered it to be 1–3 years. The patient follow‐up rate was poor: 46% selected follow‐up rate <30%; only 20% selected follow‐up rate >50%. Only 31% of the hospitals had long‐term management programs for osteoporotic fractures.

Conclusions

Doctors generally adhered to the updated Chinese guidelines for osteoporotic fractures; frequent participation in medical education can help doctors to increase their awareness of osteoporosis as well as their acceptance and practice of the guidelines.

The epidemiology of osteoporosis, associated fragility fractures, and management gap in China

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis has been one of the most common but largely under-diagnosed clinical problems among elderly population. The disease burden is even greater in China because of limited medical resources and large population size. This article is aimed to provide an overview of disease burden, secular trend, and management gap of osteoporosis and related fractures in China.

METHODS

Based on the related studies published in English and Chinese from 1990 to 2017, we investigated the prevalence/incidence of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fracture in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, characterizing the secular trend and disease burden in different regions. Strict inclusion criteria were applied to control the study quality. We further examined the diagnosis and treatment gap of osteoporosis management observed in clinical practice in China and summarized the efforts made by Chinese government and scholars to combat this situation.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven studies concerning osteoporosis prevalence in China (including Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Another 15 studies about hip fracture incidence and 13 studies about vertebral fracture prevalence/incidence were also included. The epidemiological data varied greatly across studies due to different design and population included. A higher prevalence was indicated in female population, older age groups, and residents in northern China compared to their counterparts. Though attenuated increased rates or slight decline patterns have been observed in Hong Kong and Taiwan, osteoporotic fracture incidence still showed steady increase in Chinese mainland. The diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis as well as post-fracture management were still insufficient in China.

CONCLUSION

Due to its silent nature, osteoporosis and its related fractures remain largely under-diagnosed and under-managed in China. It also highlights the scarcity of high-quality studies specifically focus on longtime documentation of disease burden change and male population, especially in mainland area.