Background: The Italian Society for Orthopaedics and Traumatology conceived this guidance-which is primarily addressed to Italian orthopedic surgeons, but should also prove useful to other bone specialists and to general practitioners-in order to improve the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of osteoporosis and its consequences.
Materials and methods: Literature reviews by a multidisciplinary team.
Results: The following topics are covered: the role of instrumental, metabolic, and genetic evaluations in the diagnosis of osteoporosis; appraisal of the risk of fracture and thresholds for intervention; general strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis (primary and secondary prevention); the pharmacologic treatment of osteoporosis; the setting and implementation of fracture liaison services for tertiary prevention. Grade A, B, and C recommendations are provided based on the main levels of evidence (1-3). Toolboxes for everyday clinical practice are provided.
Conclusions: The first up-to-date Italian guidelines for the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures are presented.
Keywords: Bisphosphonates; Denosumab; Fracture; Fracture liaison service; Guidance; Strontium ranelate; Teriparatide.