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Clinical practice guideline published for Paget's disease diagnosis, treatment
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A clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of Paget’s disease of the bone has recently been released by the Endocrine Society and has been subsequently published online in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The guidelines were developed by an Endocrine Society Task Force that included experts, a methodologist and a medical writer. The GRADE system was used to describe the strengths of the recommendations as well as the quality of evidence.
“We’ve long known that bisphosphonates — a class of drugs often used to treat osteoporosis and other bone conditions — work well for treating Paget’s disease,” Frederick R. Singer, MD, of the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., said in the press release. “One particular option — a one-time IV infusion of zoledronate — has emerged as the preferred option. The medication can put Paget’s disease into remission for up to 6 years, and many patients prefer the one-time infusion to oral medications that can cause gastrointestinal side effects and must be taken over the course of several months.”
Recommendations of the clinical practice guideline include:
- Using plain radiographs for suspicious areas of the skeleton for diagnostic purposes;
- Measuring the patient’s serum total alkaline phosphatase levels after diagnosis to determine the extent of the damage;
- Measuring a specific bone marker to assess treatment response or determine the disease’s course in patients with Paget’s disease and abnormal liver function;
- Testing for bone markers to determine whether a patient is relapsing.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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