Diagnosis and Management of Paget's Disease of Bone in Adults: New Guidelines

Following are the major recommendations:

1. Plain X‐rays of the abdomen, tibias, skull, and facial bones are recommended as an initial diagnostic screening test in patients suspected to have PDB on biochemical or clinical grounds.


2. Radionuclide bone scans, in addition to targeted radiographs, are recommended as a means of fully and accurately defining the extent of the metabolically active disease in patients with PDB.


3. There was insufficient evidence to recommend MRI or CT imaging for the diagnosis of PDB and neither technique is recommended for this purpose. These imaging techniques are recommended for the assessment of disease complications.


4. Serum total ALP is recommended as a first‐line biochemical screening test in combination with liver function tests in screening for the presence of PDB. If total ALP values are normal and clinical suspicion of metabolically active PDB is high, measurement of BALP, PINP, or uNTX may be considered to screen for metabolically active disease.


5. Bisphosphonates are recommended for the treatment of bone pain associated with Paget's disease. Zoledronic acid is recommended as the bisphosphonate most likely to give a favorable pain response.


6. There is insufficient evidence that bisphosphonate therapy improves quality of life to a clinically meaningful extent in PDB, and they are not recommended for this indication.


7. There is insufficient evidence that bisphosphonate therapy prevents fractures in PDB, and they are not recommended for this indication.


8. There is insufficient evidence that bisphosphonate therapy prevents progression of osteoarthritis in PDB, and they are not recommended for this indication.


9. There is insufficient evidence that bisphosphonate therapy prevents progression of hearing loss in PDB, and they are not recommended for this indication.


10. There is insufficient evidence that bisphosphonate therapy reduces perioperative blood loss during elective orthopedic surgery, and they are not recommended for this indication.


11. There is insufficient evidence that bisphosphonates can prevent or treat bone deformity in PDB, and they are not recommended for this indication.


12. A trial of calcitonin treatment may be considered as part of the treatment package in patients with PDB who have evidence of neurological dysfunction. Bisphosphonate treatment may also be considered, although there are few studies to support the use of bisphosphonates in this situation.


13. Bisphosphonate therapy may be considered to suppress metabolic activity in PDB, but the clinical benefit is uncertain. Within this class of drugs, nitrogen‐containing bisphosphonates are more effective than non‐nitrogen‐containing bisphosphonates, and within the bisphosphonates, zoledronic acid is most efficacious.


14. There is insufficient evidence to show that bisphosphonates prevent neoplastic transformation in PDB, and they are not recommended for this indication.


15. We recommend that patients undergoing treatment with bisphosphonates for PDB are informed about their favorable adverse event profile. We also recommend that patients are advised that a transient flu‐like illness occurs commonly with intravenous zoledronic acid.


16. Treatment aimed at improving symptoms is recommended over a treat‐to‐target strategy aimed at normalizing total ALP in PDB...


17. For patients with metabolically active PDB with bone pain treated with neridronate, either the intravenous or intramuscular route can be recommended.


18. Calcitonin may be considered for the short‐term treatment of bone pain in PDB where bisphosphonates are contraindicated.


19. Denosumab may be considered for the treatment of GCT complicating PDB when the tumor is nonresectable. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of denosumab in the treatment of PDB, and it is not recommended for this indication.


20. Measurement of PINP is recommended to predict lesion extent, as defined by scintigraphy, after bisphosphonate therapy.


21. Measurement of biochemical markers of bone turnover are not recommended a means of predicting the response of bone pain to osteoclast inhibitors in PDB.


22. Surgery is recommended for fixation of fractures through affected bone in PDB, but the clinical outcome in femoral neck and subtrochanteric fractures is poor. There is insufficient information to recommend one type of surgical treatment over another.


23. Total hip or knee replacements are recommended for patients with PDB who develop osteoarthritis in whom medical treatment is inadequate. There is insufficient evidence to recommend one type of surgical approach over another for either site.


24. Osteotomy may be considered for patients with PDB who develop osteoarthritis in whom medical treatment is inadequate, but there is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation on when this technique should be used as opposed to other surgical procedures such as arthroplasty.


25. Spine surgery may be considered for patients with PDB who develop spinal stenosis and spinal cord compression.

For more details click on the link: https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3657