A recent audit in our institution showed that 40% of Lumbar spine X-rays ordered by General Practitioners were outside the Royal College of Radiology guidelines. Little in 1998 had commented that GPs requested Lumber Spine X-rays for psychosocial reasons. An online survey was conducted on Purpose of study
Methods
NICE recommends 8-9 sessions of non operative therapy for back pain that has lasted for 6 weeks but less than 12 months. NICE recommended exercises, manual therapy, acupuncture and suggested that Lumbar supports, TENS, Ultrasound and Traction should not be offered. Since multiple methods and disciplines were available a survey was conducted among the local General Practitioners to determine what non operative methods they preferred and how it matched with NICE's recommendation. An online survey was conducted on Purpose of study
Methods
The Royal College of Radiology (RCR) provides guideline criteria to order lumbar spine X-rays for back pain. An audit was undertaken in our hospital to see compliance with this guideline. 200 lumbar spine radiology requests received in the hospital radiology department from General Practitioners over a 12 month period were identified. These 200 requests and their corresponding radiology reports were retrospectively analyzed.Purpose of study
Methods