Journal of the American College of Radiology
Volume 6, Issue 6 , Pages 401-407, June 2009

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® on Low Back Pain

  • Patricia C. Davis, MD

      Affiliations

    • Northwest Radiology Consultants, Atlanta, Georgia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author and reprints: Patricia C. Davis, MD, Northwest Radiology Consultants, 3193 Howell Mill Road, Suite 110, Atlanta, GA 30327
    • ,
  • Franz J. Wippold II, MD

      Affiliations

    • Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Saint Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • James A. Brunberg, MD

      Affiliations

    • University of California, Davis, Medical Center, Sacramento, California
    • ,
  • Rebecca S. Cornelius, MD

      Affiliations

    • University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
    • ,
  • Robert L. De La Paz, MD

      Affiliations

    • Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
    • ,
  • Pr Didier Dormont

      Affiliations

    • Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
    • ,
  • Linda Gray, MD

      Affiliations

    • Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
    • ,
  • John E. Jordan, MD

      Affiliations

    • Advanced Imaging of South Bay, Inc, Torrance, California
    • ,
  • Suresh Kumar Mukherji, MD

      Affiliations

    • University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan
    • ,
  • David J. Seidenwurm, MD

      Affiliations

    • Radiological Associates of Sacramento, Sacramento, California
    • ,
  • Patrick A. Turski, MD

      Affiliations

    • University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
    • ,
  • Robert D. Zimmerman, MD

      Affiliations

    • New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center, New York, New York
    • ,
  • Michael A. Sloan, MD, MS

      Affiliations

    • Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
    • American Academy of Neurology, St Paul, Minnesota

Acute low back pain with or without radiculopathy is one of the most common health problems in the United States, with high annual costs of evaluation and treatment, not including lost productivity. Multiple reports show that uncomplicated acute low back pain or radiculopathy is a benign, self-limited condition that does not warrant any imaging studies. Guidelines for recognition of patients with more complicated status can be used to identify those who require further evaluation for suspicion of more serious problems and contribute to appropriate imaging utilization.

Key Words: Appropriateness Criteria®, low back pain, lumbar spine CT, lumbar spine MR, utilization, radiculopathy

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PII: S1546-1440(09)00088-X

doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2009.02.008

Journal of the American College of Radiology
Volume 6, Issue 6 , Pages 401-407, June 2009

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