港大藥房骨質疏鬆篩查計劃明年推出

Scheme will involve use of screening algorithm that allows pharmacists to identify high-risk patients and refer them to family doctors Osteoporosis affects about 30 per cent of women and 8 per cent of men aged 50 and older in Hong Kong. But up to 80 per cent of cases go undiagnosed and untreated. Photo: Getty Images The University of Hong Kong will roll out a screening programme at pharmacies across the city early next year to identify people at high risk of osteoporosis and prevent bone fractures. The institution’s Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine on Thursday launched the city’s first community pharmacist-led osteoporosis screening programme. The scheme uses a screening algorithm that allows pharmacists to identify high-risk patients during routine visits and refer them to family doctors for bone density scans and diagnosis. Osteoporosis affects about 30 per cent of women and 8 per cent of men aged 50 and older in Hong Kong. But up to 80 per cent of cases go undiagnosed and untreated because the disease is asymptomatic until a fracture occurs. Fewer than one in 10 at-risk individuals proactively seek bone density screening. The one-year mortality rate following a hip fracture exceeds that of prostate and breast cancer, while local hospital data shows that nearly half of hip fracture patients do not survive beyond five years. “The high death toll is driven less by the fracture itself than by complications from prolonged immobility and bed rest, chiefly pneumonia and other infections that claim elderly patients in the months after injury,” said Dr Cheung Ching-lung, an associate professor at the university’s pharmacology and pharmacy department. The Chinese Osteoporosis Screening Algorithm uses four questions covering age, weight, sex and fracture history to assess risk, achieving a reported accuracy rate of 74 to 94 per cent. Under a pilot programme that ran from January to May, four community pharmacies approached 1,082 people deemed “high-risk individuals”, who are defined as men aged 70 or above, women aged 65 and over or adults aged 50 or above with at least one additional risk factor. Elderly residents in Cheung Sha Wan. Among the 643 people who agreed to take part, 18.2 per cent were identified as being at very high risk and referred to family physicians. Photo: Jelly Tse Among the 643 people who agreed to take part, 18.2 per cent were identified as being at very high risk and referred to family physicians for further evaluation. One of the four pilot sites was the Diamond Hill Family Pharmacy, run by the Christian Family Service Centre, where an 84-year-old woman surnamed Shum was invited to undergo a screening while she collected a blood glucose meter. Unhandled type: inline-plus-widget {"type":"inline-plus-widget"} “I did not expect I would develop osteoporosis, but I learned the consequences can be serious, and it is good to prevent it,” she said. Flagged as high risk, she was referred to a family doctor and given personalised advice on exercise and calcium intake. The university has also launched an online continuing pharmacy education course to instruct pharmacists on standardised guidelines and referral pathways. By the start of next year, the service will be rolled out to community pharmacies across the city, including NGO-run and private outlets, before expanding into district health centres and other primary care platforms as part of a comprehensive bone health network.