Objective: To evaluate the precision of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scanning at 2 skeletal sites at the knee (proximal femur and distal tibia) in people with SCI.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Participants: Subjects (N=20) with chronic SCI.
Interventions: Not applicable.
Main outcome measures: Precision as determined by root mean square coefficient of variation (RMS-CV) and root mean square standard deviation (RMS-SD).
Results: At the distal femur the root RMS-CV was 3.01% and the RMS-SD was 0.025g/cm2. At the proximal tibia the RMS-CV was 5.91% and the RMS-SD was 0.030g/cm2.
Conclusions: Precision at the distal femur is greater than at the proximal tibia and we recommend it as the preferred site for the longitudinal assessment of bone mineral density at the knee in chronic SCI.