Figure 4.

A summary of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines (available at http://publications.nice.org.uk) for the therapeutic management of primary and secondary osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women.

Notes: Alendronate is the treatment of choice in each case, but for those intolerant or contraindicated for alendronate, a hierarchy of treatment choices is recommended and patients are assigned to each treatment based on T-score, the magnitude of which depends on age and the number of independent clinical risk factors.