Clinical Trial: C-STOP Fracture Trial

Study Status: Active, not recruiting
Recruit Status: Active, not recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Comparing Strategies Targeting Osteoporosis to Prevent Recurrent Fractures: C-STOP# Randomized Trial

Brief Summary:

The objective of the proposed research is to improve quality of care for older outpatients who present to Emergency Departments and Fracture Clinics with an osteoporosis-related wrist or other upper extremity fracture. Although most of these patients warrant evidence-based and guideline-recommended osteoporosis testing and treatment, numerous studies demonstrate treatment rates less than 10-20% in the year post-fracture. Several trials, including the investigators own prior studies, have tried to address this osteoporosis care-gap and have reported that various multifaceted interventions (combinations of patient and physician education, guidelines, and physician reminders) can modestly improve treatment rates compared with usual care, although 60-70% of the patients exposed to these interventions still remain untreated. The investigators believe that a case-manager (who identifies and independently sees patients in clinic, arranges bone mineral density [BMD] tests, and offers guideline-based treatment to those with low BMD) represents a potential solution that holds great promise.

The investigators hypothesize that an osteoporosis case-manager will effectively and efficiently increase rates of osteoporosis treatment in older outpatients with upper extremity fractures when compared with a documented effective and cost-saving multifaceted intervention. To test this hypothesis the investigators propose a pragmatic patient-level randomized controlled comparative effectiveness trial with blinded outcomes ascertainment that compares the case-manager strategy with the multifaceted intervention.


Detailed Summary:

Objective: To improve treatment of osteoporosis in older patients with upper extremity fractures.

Background: Osteoporosis causes low bone mass and skeletal fragility leading to fractures of the hip, spine, and upper extremity that cause pain, deformity, disability, and even death. It affects 2 million older Canadians and costs us a billion dollars a year. Guidelines recommend aggressive treatment in older patients with osteoporosis-related fractures because risk of another fracture is 20% within 1-year and because bisphosphonate treatment reduces fracture risk by 50%. Unfortunately, less than 10% of older outpatients are treated for osteoporosis in the year post-fracture and even the most effective multifaceted interventions tested so far (i.e., combinations of patient education with physician guidelines and reminders) have only increased post-fracture osteoporosis treatment rates with bisphosphonates to 22%.

Proposed Strategy: Osteoporosis case-managers will identify older fracture patients in Emergency Departments and Fracture Clinics; arrange bone mineral density (BMD) tests; meet with patients to counsel them and go over their results; and then offer and prescribe bisphosphonate treatment to those with low BMD.

Hypothesis: An osteoporosis case-manager will effectively and efficiently increase rates of BMD testing and bisphosphonate treatment in older high-risk patients with upper extremity fractures compared with a previously tested effective and cost-saving multifaceted osteoporosis intervention (an active-comparator control consisting of telephone-based education for patients and treatment guidelines with reminders for family physicians).

Specific Aims: To determine whether an osteoporosis case-manager strategy can: Sponsor: University of Alberta

Current Primary Outcome: Proportion of untreated patients newly starting prescription osteoporosis treatment with a bisphosphonate after their fracture [ Time Frame: 6-months ]

Proportion of previously untreated patients (%) newly starting prescription osteoporosis treatment with a bisphosphonate within 6-months of an upper extremity fragility fracture


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome: New Treatment Persistence [ Time Frame: 1-year ]

Of those newly starting treatment, what proportion are still persisting with it at 1-year of followup


Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: University of Alberta

Dates:
Date Received: July 6, 2011
Date Started: September 2012
Date Completion: January 2017
Last Updated: September 16, 2016
Last Verified: September 2016