Should children on prolonged antiepileptic drug therapy undergo DEXA scanning to assess bone mineral density?

摘要

A 9-year-old boy presents with a distal radial fracture following a fall from playground climbing equipment. Four years previously, subsequent to two episodes of generalised seizures, he was diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed an ongoing long-term treatment of sodium valproate which has allowed effective seizure control. You have heard that antiepileptic medications have adverse effects on bone health, and wonder if he should have had bone mineral density (BMD) measurements to assess for that risk.