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Osteoporos Int (2015) 26:843844 DOI 10.1007/s00198-014-2922-z
LETTER
Fear of medication side effects is a barrier to optimal osteoporosis care
A. A. Sheltawy & S. Criseno & N. J. Gittoes & R. K. Crowley
Received: 11 September 2014 /Accepted: 25 September 2014 /Published online: 22 October 2014 # International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation 2014
Dear Editor,We read with interest the article by Majumdar et al. [1]. We are in agreement with the authors statement that patients knowledge of osteoporosis should lead to higher rates of treatment after fragility fracture and better medication adherence. With this in mind, all patients who are scheduled to start parenteral therapy for osteoporosis at our centre attend a 30-min individual education session with a specialist nurse.
An audit of our denosumab patient cohort revealed that 7 out of 104 patients (6/7 previous fragility fractures; median FRAX 10-year probability of major osteoporotic fracture 23 %) refused denosumab therapy after the education session, citing concern about side effects of the drug. The particular area of anxiety for patients was the report of urinary tract symptoms as a common side effect (110 %) in the...