[Indications for x-rays of the skull and cervical spine: an open question]

Epidemiol Prev. 1992 Mar;14(50):52-5.
[Article in Italian]

Abstract

During the first six months of 1990, a study was carried out on a group of patients examined at the Neuroradiology Department of a Neurological Institute for skull and cervical spine X-rays. Kind of disturbances, the examination prescribed and patients' places of origin were taken into consideration. We studied 174 patients: 108 suffering from headache, 28 from cervical arthrosis, and the others from miscellaneous diseases. Male/Female ratio (M/F) was lower in the group affected by headache; the age was more advanced in the group affected by cervical arthrosis. Skull X-rays were usually normal in headache patients; cervical X-rays were not informative in cervical arthrosis patients. We can conclude that only through a different relationship between the prescribing physician and the Radiologist it will be possible to approach the justification and optimization criteria of medical radiological exposure.

MeSH terms

  • Cervical Vertebrae / diagnostic imaging*
  • Female
  • Headache / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Neurologic Examination
  • Osteochondritis / diagnosis
  • Radiography
  • Sex Factors
  • Skull / diagnostic imaging*