6/29/23, 1:13 AM Radiograph vs. MRI for low back pain Pathway Feedback Search Clinical Topics Home Studies Radiograph vs. MRI for low back pain Radiograph vs. MRI for low back pain Disease Low back pain Trial question What is the role of rapid MRI for patients with low back pain? Study design Multi-center Open label RCT Population Characteristics of study participants 56.0% female N = 380 44.0% male 380 patients (211 female, 169 male) Inclusion criteria: patients age 18 years with low back pain Key exclusion criteria: lumbar surgery within 1 year prior to enrollment, history of acute external trauma, metallic implants in the lumbar spine, contraindications for MRI, age < 18 years, or pregnancy Interventions N=190 early MRI (pulse sequences of sagittal and axial T2-weighted fast spin echo images with total acquisition time of approximately 2 minutes on a 1.5-T scanner) N=190 initial imaging with spine radiograph (lumbar spine evaluation with anteroposterior, lateral, or oblique view) https://web.pathway.md/studies/rec17pNvrYSwgRj1V 1/2 6/29/23, 1:13 AM Radiograph vs. MRI for low back pain Pathway Primary outcome Back-related disability measured by 12-month Roland Scale score 9.3 9.34 8.75 7.0 4.7 2.3 No significant difference 0.0 Early magnetic resonance imaging Initial imaging with spine radiograph No significant difference in back-related disability measured by the 12-month Roland Scale score (9.34 vs. 8.75; MD -0.59, 95% CI -1.69 to 0.87) Secondary outcomes No significant difference in SF-36 subscales of bodily pain (51.34 vs. 52.59; MD 1.25, 95% CI -4.46 to 4.96) No significant difference in 12-month Roland Scale score (9.34 vs. 8.75; MD -0.59, 95% CI -1.69 to 0.87) Conclusion In patients age 18 years with low back pain, early MRI was not superior to initial imaging with spine radiograph with respect to a back-related disability measured by the 12-month Roland Scale score. Reference Jarvik JG, Hollingworth W, Martin B et al. Rapid magnetic resonance imaging vs radiographs for patients with low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003 Jun 4;289(21):2810-8. Open reference URL https://web.pathway.md/studies/rec17pNvrYSwgRj1V 2/2