Imaging strategies for low-back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis

Imaging strategies for low-back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis

Article Type: Reviews of effectiveness From: Clinical Governance: An International Journal, Volume 14, Issue 3

R. Chou, R. Fu, J.A. Carrino and R.A. Deyo,Lancet,2009,No. 373,pp. 463-72

This review found that immediate, routine lumbar imaging does not improve pain, function or other clinical outcomes in patients with low-back pain with no indication of a serious underlying condition. The authors recommended that routine immediate lumbar imaging should not be performed in such patients. This was a well-conducted review and the authors’ conclusions are likely to be reliable.