Publication:

Appropriateness of knee MRI prescriptions in a hospital of Birjand, 2014

Background Knee pain is one of the most common complains which cause patients to visit a doctor and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the common diagnostic methods which are common to find the cause of Knee pain. This study aim to determine knee MRI appropriateness, in Valiasr hospital of Birjand in 2014.

Methods In this study descriptive – analytical study, 150 patients referred to MRI unit were selected using convenient sampling method. Data were gatherers using a Questionnaire and then analyzed by SPSS16 using descriptive statistics and Pearson, chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.

Results Of 150 cases, 70 (46.7%) were considered inappropriate, 7 (4.7%) were uncertain, and 73 (48.7%) were deemed to be appropriate. The economic burden of inappropriate prescriptions was 46200000 Rails. A statistical significant relation was observed between appropriateness of prescription with sex, jobs, education, physician specialist and referring institution.

Conclusions Considering the high rate of inappropriate prescriptions, it is necessary to find the causes. Developing, customization, and perform clinical guidelines in all of our country may help reducing this rate.