Following the first Position Development Conference (PDC) in Denver in 2001, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) leadership recommended formation of a second conference, which was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 25-27, 2003. The ISCD Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) identified five topics of interest in the field of bone densitometry to address at the Cincinnati PDC.
Three SAC members and the ISCD president served as conference cochairs, and they, in turn, selected chairs of the subcommittees, each of which was assigned to one of the topics.
Concurrent with these activities, a group of experts in the field of pediatric densitometry developed a series of recommendations for bone mass measurement in children. The opinions of pediatric bone densitometry experts were sought by questionnaires distributed in 2002 at the International Pediatric Bone Health Meeting in Sheffield, England, and the 15th International Bone Densitometry Workshop in Monterey, California. Expert opinions were also solicited at a general forum held in September 2002 in San Antonio, Texas, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. Attendees included radiologists, pediatricians, and other bone experts from the United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, and the United States, as well as some industry representatives. The meeting focused on a discussion of key controversies surrounding the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) studies in children and adolescents.
The conference cochairs selected 13 international experts in the field of bone densitometry to serve as panelists for the conference. It was their role to review the SAC presentations and make final recommendations to the ISCD Board of Directors. A nine member affirmative vote by the panel was required for the passage of any recommendation.
The PDC meeting was organized such that on the first afternoon subcommittee chairs presented the topics to the panelists. Preliminary suggestions were given and changes were made to the presentations. On the second day, two sessions were held before an open meeting of ISCD members, representatives of bone densitometer manufacturers, and others. Open commentary to the panel was sought. On the third day of the PDC, the panel, in closed session, determined the final wording of the recommendations. Throughout the entire conference, all proceedings were audio-recorded and a professional writer was present to take notes of the discussions to ensure accuracy.
With input from the subcommittee chairs, the conference cochairs finalized the wording of the recommendations without change in content.
