THURSDAY, Jan. 19, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Many patients on long-term oral corticosteroid therapy to treat chronic skin diseases don't receive treatment to prevent osteoporosis that may be caused by the drugs.
That's the finding of a U.S. study in the January issue of the journal Archives of Dermatology.
Oral corticosteroids (also called glucocorticoids) are used to treat a variety of skin diseases, as well as other conditions.
"Independent of the reason for their use, all patients receiving long-term glucocorticoid treatment have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis," noted the study authors, who included Dr. Rosemarie H. Liu, of Eastern Virginia Medical School, in Norfolk.
Previous research found that medications called bisphosphonates can increase bone mineral density and reduce osteoporosis risk.
The researchers reviewed the records of 35 patients with chronic skin diseases who were referred to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Each of the patients was taking glucocorticoids for at least a month before they were referred to the hospital. Twenty-eight (80 percent) of the patients were not taking bisphosphonates when they were referred to the hospital.
"The low rate of bisphosphonate use prior to referral and prolonged time interval until initiation of prophylaxis are disappointing because bisphosphonates are agreed to be the most efficacious agents known to prevent glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP)," the study authors wrote. "This may be due to variations in knowledge about GIOP among different physician specialties."
"Unless there is a specific contraindication, bisphosphonates should be prescribed concomitantly with the initiation of corticosteroid therapy in diseases for which long-term glucocorticoid use is anticipated as part of the standard of care," the authors concluded.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more about corticosteroids.
