Trial reportThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2008
Effectiveness of GP access to magnetic resonance imaging of the knee: a randomised trial.
Trial report in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Musculoskeletal care pathways for adults with hip and knee pain referred for specialist opinion: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2019Pooled it
- Direct access cancer testing in primary care: a systematic review of use and clinical outcomes.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Pooled it
- Predicting no return to sports after three months in patients with traumatic knee complaints in general practice by combining patient characteristics, trauma characteristics and knee complaints.The European journal of general practice · 2019Trial
- Efficacy of MRI in primary care for patients with knee complaints due to trauma: protocol of a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial (TACKLE trial).BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2014Trial
- The effect of waiting times from general practitioner referral to MRI or orthopaedic consultation for the knee on patient-based outcomes.The British journal of radiology · 2012Trial
- Participants' preference for type of leaflet used to feed back the results of a randomised trial: a survey.Trials · 2010Trial
- Cost-effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging of the knee for patients presenting in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2008Trial
- Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of Knee Quality of Life 26-Item Questionnaire into Spanish in Patellofemoral Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Irish general practitioner (GP) perspectives on impact of direct access radiology on patient care in the community: results from a mixed-methods study.Irish journal of medical science · 2024Article
- Community diagnostic centres: bringing diagnostics closer to home.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2021Article
- Unintended consequences: quantifying the benefits, iatrogenic harms and downstream cascade costs of musculoskeletal MRI in UK primary care.BMJ open quality · 2021Article
- A clinical prediction rule for meniscal tears in primary care: development and internal validation using a multicentre study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2015Article
- Six principles to enhance health workforce flexibility.Human resources for health · 2015Article
- Aches and pains in primary care: stay positive but critical.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2010Article
- Direct access to diagnostic services.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2009Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGPs commonly see patients with knee problems. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee is an accurate diagnostic test for meniscus and ligament injuries of the knee, but there is uncertainty about the appropriate use of MRI and when it should enter the diagnostic pathway for patients with these problems.
aimTo assess the effectiveness of GP referral to early MRI and a provisional orthopaedic appointment, compared with referral to an orthopaedic specialist without prior MRI for patients with continuing knee problems. DESIGN OF STUDY: Pragmatic multicentre randomised trial with two parallel groups.
settingA total of 553 patients consulting their GP about a continuing knee problem were recruited from 163 general practices at 11 sites across the UK.
methodPatients were randomised to MRI within 12 weeks of GP referral including a provisional orthopaedic appointment, or orthopaedic appointment without prior MRI within a maximum of 9 months from GP referral. The primary outcome measures were the Short Form 36-item (SF-36) physical functioning scale and the Knee Quality of Life 26-item Questionnaire (KQoL-26) at 6, 12, and 24 months.
resultsPatients randomised to MRI improved mean SF-36 physical functioning scores by 2.81 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.26 to 5.89) more than those referred to orthopaedics (P = 0.072). Patients randomised to MRI improved mean KQoL-26 physical functioning scores by 3.65 (95% CI = 1.03 to 6.28) more than controls (P = 0.007). There were no other significant differences.
conclusionGP access to MRI yielded small, but statistically significant, benefits in patients' knee-related quality of life but non-significant improvements in physical functioning.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.