Around 70, 000 patients per year in the UK attend hospital with serious wrist pain after an injury, which although painful on examination, look normal on X-rays. In these cases, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends giving patients an MRI scan. However, early MRI use varies across the UK, with only a minority of National Health Service (NHS) centres being able to offer this to patients for many complex reasons.
‘We therefore set up this study to explore the views of staff and patients on the use of early MRI in the management of wrist injuries,’ said Dr. Ben Dean, Senior Research Fellow at NDORMS.
The qualitative research, published in BMJ Open, explores the perspectives of both patients and healthcare staff on the management of wrist injuries in the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
For patients, wrist injuries can have a significant negative impact on their lives, causing them to worry whilst waiting for a diagnosis about worst-case scenarios and the potential for long-term disability if a serious injury like a scaphoid fracture is missed.
Healthcare staff also expressed concerns about the consequences of missed diagnoses. They felt that older diagnostic pathways, relying on X-rays alone, often left patients feeling "short-changed by the health service."
‘Early MRI was seen as a win for everyone,’ said Ben. ‘For patients, the win encompassed the relief of a speedy diagnosis which helped them to get better. Staff saw early MRI as a win because it ‘revolutionised care’ and ‘reduced the clinic footprint.’