[Reproducibility of densitometric examinations of the tibial shaft].

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the reproducibility of tibial shaft densitometry in own method under development. It will be expressed as percentage value of coefficient of variability (%CV). Bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured with a dual energy X-ray densitometer Lunar DPX; the data were analyzed with a "Orthopedic" software. Three tibial bone scans were done in 10 males. High reproducibility was found, ranging from 0.98% to 1.45% and from 1.45% to 2.08% for BMC and BMD respectively. Reproducibility increases as the analyzed surface increases. Reproducibility so high allows for further investigations; it might be interesting to monitor BMC and BMD of the tibia in course of fracture treatment by Polfix or Zespol method.