Treatment of Paget's disease of bone: A survey of clinical practice in Australia

John Walsh, R. Attewell, Bronwyn Stuckey, M.J. Hooper, J.D. Wark, S. Fletcher, V. Ferrari, J.A. Eisman

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Consensus guidelines for the treatment of Paget's disease of bone have been published, but it is not known how closely these reflect clinical practice. We conducted a multi-centre, stratified, retrospective review of case notes of 531 subjects treated for Paget's disease of bone between 2000 and 2005 in 29 Australian centres. The subjects received 1072 courses of bisphosphonate treatment (pamidronate 363, alendronate 324, risedronate 208, tiludronate 103, zoledronic acid 69, and etidronate 5). The most recent treatment received was oral therapy in 57% of patients (alendronate 29%, risedronate 24%, and tiludronate 4%) and intravenous in 43% (pamidronate 33%, and zoledronic acid 10%). For oral bisphosphonates, the percentages of courses which were at the recommended dosage and duration were: alendronate 33%, risedronate 60% and tiludronate 29%. Pamidronate was administered in a wide range of dosing schedules, most commonly 60 mg every 3 months (18%), 6 months (17%) or annually (12%), whereas zoledronic acid was mainly given as a 4 mg infusion (98%) as a single dose (52%) or annually (19%). Most clinicians reported taking into account symptoms, plasma alkaline phosphatase activity and anatomical location of disease in determining the need for treatment. Patient preference, intolerance of oral therapy and compliance were ranked highest in determining the choice between oral and intravenous therapy. We conclude that oral and intravenous bisphosphonate dosing regimens are both commonly used to treat Paget's disease of bone in Australia. Only a minority of courses of oral bisphosphonate treatment are at the recommended dosage and duration, and there is a lack of consensus on regimens for intravenous treatment.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1219-1225
    JournalBone
    Volume42
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Treatment of Paget's disease of bone: A survey of clinical practice in Australia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this