Steve Chaplin

Freelance Medical Journalist

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Consensus Groups

Case study - pain and osteoporosis

Publishers and clinicians can be wary of commercial involvement with these groups; sometimes it's the only way that important but unfashionable issues can be aired. One group of senior clinicians met to discuss the management of vertebral pain in patients with osteoporosis. There was evidence in the literature, but only in a disparate form, and little comparative data of clinical value. The aim was to produce straightforward guidance, based on evidence where possible, to help GPs and secondary care physicians with the initial management of pain due to vertebral collapse. I recorded the meeting and prepared a fully-referenced summary of each presentation. These drafts went back to the speakers for review and editing before compiling the consensus document.