Lumbar spine X-rays for back pain: Still justified as a screening examination in South Africa
SA Journal of Radiology
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Lumbar spine X-rays for back pain: Still justified as a screening examination in South Africa | |
| Creator | Scher, A. T. | |
| Description | Standard teaching in the imaging approach to patients with back pain is that plain X-ray should only be obtained after 3 months of conservative treatment and thorough clinical examination and appropriate laboratory investigations. This approach, while appropriate in first-world countries, may lead to conditions such as tuberculosis of the spine being overlooked. An analysis was therefore made of 1 383 patients with complaints of lower back pain who were referred for X-ray of the lumbar spine. In 28 patients active spinal tuberculosis was diagnosed; in 8 of these patients the diagnosis had not been suspected clinically. It is concluded that in South Africa with its unsophisticated patient population and poor facilities, limited X-ray (lateral and AP view) of the lumbar spine is justified in patients presenting with back pain for the first time. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2003-08-31 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajr.v7i3.1390 | |
| Source | South African Journal of Radiology; Vol 7, No 3 (2003); 9-11 2078-6778 1027-202X | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://sajr.org.za/index.php/sajr/article/view/1390/1767
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