ArticleArthritis care & research2017
Variations in Radiographic Procedure Use for Medicare Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Article in Arthritis care & research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Frailty Predicts Incident Osteoporotic Fractures in Veterans with Rheumatoid Arthritis.Arthritis care & research · 2026Article
- High disease activity is associated with incident osteoporotic fractures among veterans with rheumatoid arthritis.Joint bone spine · 2026Article
- Burden of Metabolic Bone Disease in Patients with Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease With and Without Autoimmune Pancreatitis: A Cross-Sectional Study.Clinical and translational gastroenterology · 2025Article
- Osteoporosis Pathophysiology, Epidemiology, and Screening in Rheumatoid Arthritis.Current rheumatology reports · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveIn 2013, the American College of Rheumatology published its Choosing Wisely list, which identified 2 radiographic procedures (peripheral joint magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and dual x-ray absorptiometry [DXA] scans) that were at risk for overuse.
methodsWe performed a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study to measure the use of peripheral joint MRI, peripheral joint radiographs, and DXA scans in a national cohort of Medicare patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during 2008-2009, before the start of the Choosing Wisely campaign. Diagnoses were identified via International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes; utilization was calculated using Current Procedural Terminology codes. Utilization was analyzed at the individual level and at the regional level (by hospital referral region [HRR]).
resultsThere were 8,051 patients with RA who were included: 81% were women, and the mean age was 76 years. Over a 2-year period, the mean number of peripheral joint MRIs per beneficiary was 0.3 (median 0 [range 0-50]), peripheral joint radiographs per beneficiary was 2.6 (median 1 [range 0-33]), and DXA scans per beneficiary was 0.7 (median 0 [range 0-11]). Only 6.8% of patients received >1 peripheral joint MRI, and 6% of HRRs had a mean number of peripheral joint MRIs >1.
conclusionThere is variation in the use of peripheral joint MRI, peripheral joint radiographs, and DXA scans among Medicare patients with RA, although only a small number of HRRs have consistently high utilization. Although we cannot judge the appropriateness of each procedure, variation in use across regions signals the need for investigations to examine potential overutilization.
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