Purpose or Case Report: The goal of this presentation is to provide a review of the important role Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) plays in treating pediatric patients with low bone density. It also aims to educate on the different DXA machines used today, give a review of the official positions for pediatric DXA scans determined by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD), give a brief history of the lateral distal femur (LDF) scan and why it was developed, and touch on the other modalities that can be used to asses bone density..

Osteoporosis is commonly thought of as an adult bone health issue; however recently it has gained more attention as being an issue for pediatric patients. Different factors affect bone health, such as genetics and family history, diet and exercise, certain medications, and whether a patient is ambulatory or non-ambulatory. It is important to conduct the proper testing to determine a patient’s fracture risk and trying to prevent further bone deterioration. A DXA Scan is the gold standard across all age groups in providing vital bone health information as it provides a look into the body with minimal radiation exposure to evaluate the bones to determine how much at risk a patient may be.
Methods & Materials: We will look at examples of properly positioned scans and what the results can look like. We will also look at the difference between ambulatory and non-ambulatory lateral distal femurs scans and compare the Z-Scores of those scans.
Results:
Conclusions: