ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2018
Requesting spinal MRIs effectively from primary care referrals.
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Emerging MRI-based spine scoring techniques targeting bone quality to assess osteoporosis, vertebral fracture risk, other spinal degenerative diseases, and post-surgical outcomes.La Radiologia medica · 2025Review
- Magnetic resonance imaging phantom-based S1 vertebral scores are indicators of fat-water-like osteoporotic changes in postmenopausal women: a pilot study.Asian spine journal · 2024Article
- Assessing osteoporosis in postmenopausal women: preliminary results using a novel lumbar spine phantom-based MRI scoring method.La Radiologia medica · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo define if MRI scans can accurately be requested based on information provided in the primary care referral and, therefore, streamline the patient journey. The demand for outpatient spinal appointments significantly exceeds our services' ability to provide efficient, high-quality patient care. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine is requested following first consultation.
methodsDuring routine vetting of primary care referral letters, three consultant spinal surgeons recorded how likely they thought each patient would be to have an MRI scan. Following the first consultation with the spinal service, the notes of each patient were reviewed to see if an MRI was requested. We measured the positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), sensitivity and specificity of ordering MRI scans based on primary care referral letters.
results149 patients were included [101 females, 48 males, mean age 49 (16-87)]. There were 125 routine, 21 urgent, and 3 'urgent-suspected cancer' referrals. The PPV of ordering MRIs before first consultation was 84%, NPV was 56% with the sensitivity and specificity being 82 and 59%, respectively. Ordering MRIs during initial vetting could shorten the patient journey with potential socioeconomic benefits.
conclusionsMRI scans can be effectively ordered based on the information provided by the primary care referral letter. Requesting MRI scans early in the patient journey can save considerable time, improve care, and deliver cost savings. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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