1. The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee in current clinical practice: A retrospective evaluation of the MRI reports within a large NHS trust.
- Author
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Ahmed I, Moiz H, Carlos W, Edwin C, Staniszewska S, Parsons N, Price A, Hutchinson C, and Metcalfe A
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries diagnostic imaging, Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries epidemiology, Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries surgery, Arthritis epidemiology, Female, Humans, Knee surgery, Knee Injuries epidemiology, Knee Injuries surgery, Magnetic Resonance Imaging methods, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, State Medicine statistics & numerical data, United Kingdom, Arthritis diagnostic imaging, Knee diagnostic imaging, Knee Injuries diagnostic imaging
- Abstract
Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most widely used investigations for knee pain as it provides detailed assessment of the bone and soft tissues. The aim of this study is to report the frequency of each diagnosis identified on MRI scans of the knee and explore the relationship between MRI results and onward treatment., Methods: Consecutive MRI reports from a large NHS trust performed in 2017 were included in this study. The hospital electronic system was consulted to identify whether a patient underwent x-ray prior to the MRI, attended an outpatient appointment or underwent surgery., Results: 4466 MRI knees were performed in 2017 with 71.2% requested in primary care and 28.1% requested in secondary care. The most common diagnosis was signs of arthritis (55.2%), followed by meniscal tears (42.8%) and ACL tears (8.3%). 49.4% of patients who had an MRI attended outpatients and 15.6% underwent surgery. The rate of knee surgery was significantly higher for patients who had their scans requested in secondary care (32.9% vs 8.9%, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: The rate of surgical intervention following MRI is low and given these results it seems unlikely that the scan changes practice in most cases. The rate of surgery and outpatient follow up was significantly higher in scans requested by secondary care. We urge clinicians avoid wasteful use of MRI and recommend the use of plain radiography prior to MRI where arthritis may be present., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2021
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