165 Background: Metabolic bone disease is a known but incompletely understood consequence of gastrectomy. Post gastrectomy osteoporosis (OP) is multifactorial. Evidence suggests that patients who undergo this surgery require long term bone health assessment and nutritional support. Methods: 30 post gastrectomy patients (2000-2008) from a single centre in Australia were evaluated re bone health post surgery and post nutritional supplementation. Exploratory analysis included: age, gender, pathology, type of surgery, 25 OH-vitamin D, calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), bone mineral density (BMD), vertebral XRs, urinary calcium and N telopeptides of type I collagen. Other risk factors evaluated were: smoking, corticosteroid use, alcohol intake, hyperthyroidism, menopausal status, hyperparathyroidism (hPTH), pre-existing bone disease. Results: The median age of the cohort was 67.5 (range 53-83) of whom 22 (73%) were male. Histology showed 16 (53%) gastric adenocarcinoma, 6 (20%) esophageal adenocarcinoma, 2 (7%) GISTs, 5 (17%) gastric/duodenal lymphoma and 1 other category. Similar numbers of patients underwent total (12) and partial/distal gastrectomy (12), with 6 having a subtotal gastrectomy. 22 (73%) had a Roux-en-Y or BR II reconstruction and 8 had a BRI/other. Median time from surgery to first BMD was 54.5 months (range 12-360) with median correlative calcium level 2.24 (range 1.97-2.49), median vitamin D level 43 (range 11-82) and median PTH 6.4 (range 1.8-13.8). Osteoporosis was diagnosed in 14 (47%) of patients, osteopenia in 14 and 2 (7%) patients had a normal BMD. Low vitamin D was seen in 23 (77%) patients, low calcium levels in 5 (17%) and secondary hPTH in 12 (41%). Post nutritional supplementation preliminary results showed 2/23 (9%) had a low vitamin D level, 3/11 (27%) had secondary hPTH, 5/19 (26%) had osteoporosis, 12/19 (63%) had osteopenia and 2/19 had a normal BMD. Analysis of other risk factors is to follow. Conclusions: Poor bone health and vitamin D deficiency is a clinically significant problem post gastrectomy. Patients should undergo long term nutritional and bone health surveillance in addition to their oncological follow up post resection.
Control of uremic bone disease: Role of vitamin D analogs
