Endocrine Abstracts

Background

There is a high prevalence of osteoporosis (OP) among patients of the older age undergoing rehabilitation. Therefore, it is obvious that physicians working in the field of physical and rehabilitative medicine should be well oriented in this medical problem.

Objectives

to study the relevance of the problem of osteoporosis (OP) for physicians working in the field of physical and rehabilitation medicine, their awareness of the main methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this disease, as well as the frequency of their use in daily clinical activitie.

Methods

A cross-type study was carried out using a questionnaire survey. The study included 157 doctors (M-34, F-123) of 8 medical specialties working in 27 specialized medical institutions on the profile of ’medical rehabilitation. The questionnaire for doctors consisted of 21 items of special questions.

Results

90.45% of the surveyed doctors believed that the problem of OP is relevant for their clinical activities, 100% of the respondents indicated that the presence of OP significantly affects the rehabilitation prognosis and 95.54% – on the degree of effectiveness of medical rehabilitation. According to the respondents, patients with OP make up on average 30.0% [20.0; 50.0] (0–90) of the total flow of patients. 92.36% (145/157) of doctors indicated that they know the risk factors for OP, 98.73% (155/157) – methods for diagnosing OP, 68.79% (108/157) – methods for treating OP, 80.25% (126/157) – methods of preventing OP, 47.13% (74/157) – what is FRAX. However, 35.01% (55/157) of the respondents considered their level of awareness of the problem sufficient for managing patients with OP. Diagnostic procedures for OP are recommended by the all endocrinologists (100%) and the majority of traumatologists (72.73%), gynecologists (66.67) and cardiologists (64.28%), as well as on average half (50%) neurologists and therapists. Endocrinologists (100%), gynecologists (66.67%) and therapists (60%) are mainly involved in the treatment of OP. 32.48% (51/157) of physicians have ever referred their patients to a bone mineral density assessment.

Conclusion

The problem of OP is relevant for the clinical activities of specialists in physical and rehabilitation medicine, and there is the need for advanced training on the problem of OP among these specialists.