TITLE:
The Effect of Requester Training on the Relevance of Lumbar Spine X-Ray Request for Low Back Pain in Adults at Yaounde
AUTHORS:
Moulion Tapouh Jean Roger, Djomou Wandji Franck Arold, Mbede Maggy, Moifo Boniface
KEYWORDS:
Guidelines, Low Back Pain, Training, Requesters, Justification
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Radiology,
Vol.12 No.1,
March
3,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Despite the availability of guidelines, the requests for medical imaging examinations for the exploration of low back pain remain irrelevant in the majority of cases. Objective: To assess the impact of requester training on the justification of lumbar spine X-rays for low back pain in adults in Yaounde. Materials and Methods: We carried out an interventional study from December 2017 to April 2018 in Yaounde (Cameroon). We analyzed the relevance of the prescription of X-rays for low back pain before and after an interactive training of the requesters. Results: Among the 16 requesters who were trained, the proportion of irrelevant requests dropped from 58.22% (46/79) before training to 44.44% (20/45) after training, representing a decrease of 13.78% (p = 0.012). The highest drop in the proportion of irrelevant requests was found among general practitioners (-21.98%) and requesters having less than 10 years of experience in medical practice (-31.8%). Conclusion: The training of requesters moderately reduces the rate of irrelevant examinations. Other factors of irrelevant prescription must be investigated and corrected for this decrease to be more significant.