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Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is well known as the "gold standard" technique for the diagnosis of osteoporosis; therefore its "brightness" puts into shadow other valuable applications both in research and clinical practice. Whole body scan offers the opportunity to analyze the body composition, the oldest non bone densitometric application with valuable research data relevant for sarcopenia diagnosis, obesity and lipodystrophy diagnosis. Hip geometry analysis is also an older feature of DXA femur scan remained in the research area. The trabecular bone score (TBS) is the newest and most astonishing application using DXA scans: it brings bone quality data based on the image texture analysis of the spine DXA images with relevant impact on the fracture risk assessment independent of the bone density. Vertebral fracture assessment could be done in the same visit with bone densitometry using DXA rapid lateral spine scan: it is a borrowed application from plain radiology, as atypical femoral fracture (AFF) diagnosis and relies on the increased image quality of the DXA scans on recent equipments. At the same time, incidental findings on these images offer the opportunity to evaluate aortic calcifications useful for cardiovascular risk evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are no new national growth references for the Romanian population and the current recommendations for short stature evaluation is the use of the Swiss growth charts developed based on a longitudinal study. The aim of the present paper is to present the new synthetic growth references for Romanian children. Material and methods. We used local Romanian data from 9 studies with information on height and weight obtained between 1999 and 2016. Based on their plausibility and methodology six studies were selected for generating the National Synthetic Growth References for Romanian Children based on the specific methodology described previously. The selected studies included 8407 subjects measured in schools/kindergartens. Age is reported in years covering a range from 3-18 years. Height and weight were measured at a precision of 0.1 cm and 0.1 kg. All children were measured at normal temperature, in light clothes, without footwear. Results. We present the charts and tables with the common centiles for height, weight and body mass index for boys and girls. Conclusion. We suggest synthetic growth references based upon recent growth data from 6 different Romanian regions as new National Growth Charts for Romanian children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]