EULAR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE USE OF IMAGING IN MECHANICAL LOW BACK PAIN

Background Low back pain is common and relates to a variety of overlapping pathologies. Imaging of the spine has a high priority in the assessment of patients with low back pain. However, studies have shown that clinicians vary widely in how frequently they obtain imaging tests for assessment of low back pain. Technical advances in the field of lumbar spine imaging are made at an increasingly high rate, and it seems likely that improved imaging procedures can indeed increase the understanding of low back pain and aid the diagnostic precision to the diagnostics of mechanical low back pain. The EULAR Task Force consists of radiologists, orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologists, doctors in physical medicine and general medicine, physiotherapist and patients and the aim of the group was to develop evidence-based recommendations for the use of imaging modalities in low back pain with or without radiculopathy Based on PICOs established at the first meeting and using European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) standardised operating procedures a systematic literature review was conducted to retrieve data on the role of imaging modalities including both conventional, contrast enhanced and dynamic approaches in radiography, ultrasound, MRI and CT. The recommendations will be based on the results of the systematic literature review and expert opinion and will be relevant for to all health care professionals who treat mechanical low back patients due to its multifactorial nature. Reference [1] Hansen BB, Hansen P, Carrino JA, Fournier G, Rasti Z, Boesen M. Imaging in mechanical back pain: Anything new? Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol [Internet]. Elsevier Ltd 2016Aug;30(4):766–85. [2] Chou R, Fu R, Carrino JA, Deyo RA. Imaging strategies for low-back pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet . Elsevier Ltd 2009;373(9662):463–72. [3] Stochkendahl MJ, Kjaer P, Hartvigsen J, Kongsted A, Aaboe J, Andersen M, et al. National Clinical Guidelines for non-surgical treatment of patients with recent onset low back pain or lumbar radiculopathy. Eur Spine J2017;1–16. Disclosure of Interest None declared