Frequency of Bone Health Presentations at National Hand Meetings.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency with which osteoporosis topics (screening, medical treatment, and fracture prevention) are presented at national hand surgery meetings. This was compared with the frequency of the same topics presented at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) annual meetings.


METHODS
The annual meeting programs for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH), the American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS), and the OTA from the previous 10 years (2007-2016) were searched for presentations that covered bone health at each of these meetings. We categorized the presentations as either instructional or research.


RESULTS
There were 2 bone health instructional presentations at hand surgery meetings in contrast to 13 presentations at OTA meetings over the last 10 years. For the last 9 years, the OTA has featured at least 1 instructional presentation on bone health every year. We identified 11 research presentations at the hand surgery meetings compared with 16 at the OTA meetings.


CONCLUSIONS
Osteoporosis and bone health are infrequently presented instructional topics at national hand meetings compared with OTA meetings. The cause of the difference is unclear and likely multifactorial, varying each year with different program chairs and committees. The level of involvement of hand surgeons in osteoporosis management is controversial; however, incorporation of this topic may stimulate discussion and help identify solutions for this controversy.


CLINICAL RELEVANCE
It may benefit hand surgeons to place more importance on osteoporosis screening and treatment. We believe that there should be an annual instructional course on this topic at the ASSH and AAHS meetings.
['Christensen|Daniel L|DL|', 'Nappo|Kyle E|KE|', 'Ficke|Benjamin|B|', 'Tintle|Scott M|SM|']
D035843:Biomedical Research D003226:Congresses as Topic D006801:Humans D010024:Osteoporosis D012955:Societies, Medical
bone health osteoporosis Bisphosphonate distal radius fracture fragility fracture