Clinical meaning of high bone mineral density (Part II). Artifacts that artificially increase bone mass

In clinical practice, the cases of high bone mineral density (BMD), detected during dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), are rather frequent. Conditions that lead to obvious structural bone changes, distorting BMD values, include degenerative spinal diseases, ankylosing spondylitis, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, and vertebral fractures. Other causes of elevated BMD values may include external artifacts, such as calcification of the abdominal aorta, metal structures in the vertebral bodies or hip joint, kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty, ectopic calcifications in the abdominal cavity within the examination region of interest, and barium passage in the intestines.

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