EC Orthopaedics

Background: Osteoporosis is one of the most common bone disease in humans, representing a major public health problem. It is more common in Caucasians, women, and older people.

Aim: To assess the clinical practice of orthopedic registrars towards osteoporosis treatment and preventive measures in their rotation ship, in order to determine to what extend the osteoporosis issue is being addressed.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among orthopedic registrars who are working in Khartoum state, using a structured questionnaire. Data were obtained, entered, and analyzed using SPSS v 26 software.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 31.5, 100% were males, 61.3% in the third year of rotation while 38.8% in the fourth year. Assessment of orthopedic registrars' knowledge about osteoporosis revealed that 36 (45%) of them had poor knowledge, 32 (40%) had moderate knowledge, and only 12 (15%) had excellent knowledge. 74 (92.5%) had positive attitude, only 6 (7.5) had negative attitude. majority 95% had moderate practice, only 2 (2.5%) had excellent practice and only 2 (2.5%) had poor practice. Comparison of knowledge, attitude and practice between orthopedic registrars in the 3^rd and the 4^th year of rotation with a P-value of (0.001), (0.07) and (0.02) consecutively, revealed significant difference in knowledge, and practice but not in attitude.

Conclusion: Although Sudanese orthopedic registrars showed positive attitude and moderately good practice regarding osteoporosis treatment and prevention, a gap in their knowledge is exist because of the great gap between the current clinical practice and the worldwide guidelines in diagnosis and management of osteoporosis, insufficient awareness among registrars, absence of clear local guidelines, absence of local specialized programs, inaccessible or unavailable accurate diagnostic tools including bone mineral density (BMD) measurement by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) bone scan, and expensiveness of the medications, all contribute in under- management of osteoporotic patients and people at risk.

 Keywords: Orthopedic; Osteoporosis; Treatment; Preventive Measures

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