An online investigation into the impact of adding epidemiological information to imaging reports for low back pain.
Degenerative changes commonly feature on spinal images and are often identified in the imaging reports of pain-free individuals. Many of these findings relate to "normal" age-related characteristics, however are frequently interpreted as implying abnormality and may adversely influence patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of adding epidemiological information to lumbar imaging reports in a general adult population. This study was an online, scenario-based, randomised experiment. Participants were presented with a "virtual patient" scenario via an online survey and then randomly allocated to either receive a standard imaging report or a standard report with additional epidemiological information. The primary outcome was a composite "back-related perceptions" (BRP) score. Data from 247 participants (72% female) were included in the analysis. There was a small effect of group on BRP [F(12,444) = 6.75, p = 0.010] with participants who received the additional epidemiological information demonstrating more positive perceptions. Including epidemiological information in spinal imaging reports positively impacted "virtual-patient" perceptions in an online scenario-based study. This finding suggests that implementing a simple imaging reporting strategy may be reassuring and should be further considered for its potential to positively impact patient outcomes. Further research is warranted in clinical populations.
['Medalian|Yasmin|Y|', 'Moseley|G Lorimer|GL|', 'Karran|Emma L|EL|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D005260:Female D006801:Humans D020407:Internet D017116:Low Back Pain D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
reporting low back pain spinal imaging reassurance communication