Imaging Not Always Necesssary for Musculoskeletal Tumors

Results of a recently published study indicated patients evaluated for a musculoskeletal tumors frequently underwent unnecessary imaging procedures.

Researchers from Loyola University inChicago, Ill., and the University of Florida in Gainesville evaluated 298 consecutive patients with 550 pre-referral imaging studies who were were referred to a single institution for study of musculoskeletal neoplasms over a three-month period. After analysis by two radiologists and two oncologists specializing in orthopedics, pre-referral imaging studies were deemed inappropriate based on indication for diagnosis/treatment or if the studies had to be re-done due to excessive time since they were obtained or were of poor quality.

Overall, 112 pre-referral advanced imaging studies (32.4 percent) were deemed inappropriate. Broken down, 1.5 percent of radiographs, 36.5 percent of computed tomography scans, 26.7 percent of magnetic resonance imaging scans, 45.1 percent of bone scans and 45.5 percent of positron emission tomography scans were deemed inappropriate. No significant differences were observed based on whether orthopedic surgeons (28.2 percent) or primary care physicians (26.5 percent) recommended the imaging deemed inappropriate in this study, according to the researchers.