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X-Rays often miss hip and pelvic fractures

Category: General Health

According to a new Duke University Medical Center study, X-rays fail to identify a significant number of hip and pelvic fractures.

In the study, lead author Charles Spritzer and his colleagues examined the medical data of 92 patients who received both an X-ray and an MRI after being admitted to the emergency room with hip and pelvic pain, according to Health Day News.

After reviewing the results, the research team discovered that 13 patients with normal X-ray results were found to have 23 hip and pelvic fractures after an MRI. Moreover, X-rays identified the presence of a fracture in 11 patients who were later found to have normal MRI results.

Spritzer noted that the accurate diagnosis associated with an MRI can "speed patients to surgical management, if needed, and reduce the rate of hospital admissions among patients who do not have fractures."

"This distinction is important in terms of healthcare utilization, overall patient cost and patient inconvenience," he added.

However, he noted that it is unreasonable to give every patient who is complaining of hip or pelvic pain an MRI, BBC News reports.