Not sure if this dexa scan is accurate?

[Jeaniem130]

I have hardware screws/rods at L5/S1 that were not there during my last scan. I read they may skew results?

[yogalibrarian]

Yes, hardware rods/screws (aka "internal artifacts") will definitely skew the DXA results if they are within the scan area and possibly make the spine scan unusable.

A good radiology department will ask questions about joint replacements, fractures, and internal "hardware." I don't see any notes like that in your report.

The International Society for Clinical Densitometry (a medical organization that certifies the people do perform and evaluate DXA scans) has clear guidelines about how to handle such artifacts.

S1/L5 is outside the normal scan area -- L1-L4-- so it may not have affected the scan. If it were in the scan area, a tech might be able to adjust the scan to exclude the hardware. And that would be noted on the report.

If they didn't ask prior to the scan I would be very concerned.

[Jeaniem130 in reply to yogalibrarian]

Thank you for your response. The tech did notate the placement of the hardware. She called in someone to look at the images she was getting but was told there was no problem?