Physician’s Awareness of the Prevention of Corticosteroid Induced Osteoporosis
Supparat Ungprasert MD*, Suparaporn Wangkaew MD*, Worawit Louthrenoo MD*
Affiliation : * Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai
Background and
Objective : Corticosteroid induced osteoporosis (CIO) is a preventable condition that is
often not realized by physicians who prescribe corticosteroids. The present study was carried out to study the
awareness of CIO prevention in a teaching hospital.
Materials and Methods : The medical records of patients who received corticosteroids equivalent to predniso-
lone of > 5 mg/day for a minimum of 3 months between 1 May 2004 and 30 June 2004 were reviewed.
Results : Four hundred and forty nine patients of 1,540 who received corticosteroids (29.1%) were included in
the present study. Rheumatologists, nephrologists, and dermatologists were the top three specialists to pre-
scribe corticosteroids in 189 (42.1%), 103 (23.0%), and 46 (10.2%) cases, respectively. Only 146 patients
(32.5%) received calcium supplement. Rheumatologists and neurologists were the top two specialists to
prescribe calcium supplementation in 100 of 189 (52.9%) and 13 of 36 (36.1%) cases, respectively. Bone
mineral density measurement was determined in only 26 of the 449 patients (5.8%).
Conclusion : Prevention of CIO is still neglected by internal medicine specialists, even in a teaching hospital.
An educational campaign for physicians is warranted to improve the practice for the prevention of this
treatable complication.
Keywords : Corticosteroid, Osteoporosis, Prevention, Awareness
