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Utilization trends for MR arthrography of the hip and shoulder: a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 20-year data from a tertiary care academic medical center

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Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study is to analyze changes in the utilization of MRA of the hip and shoulder at a large tertiary care academic medical center during a period of significant technological advancements over the last 20 years.

Materials and methods

This retrospective cross-sectional analysis identified MRA of the hip and shoulder performed at our institution over a 20-year period (2/2003–2/2023) in relation to the total number of MR hip and shoulder examinations during the same period. Patient characteristics and referring provider demographic information were extracted. Descriptive statistics and trend analysis were performed.

Results

The total number of MRIs of the hip and shoulder increased overall, with small dips in 2020 and 2022. MRA of the hip increased significantly over the first 10 years of the study period (p = 0.0005), while MRA of the shoulder did not change significantly (p = 0.33). The proportion of both MRA of the hip and shoulder declined over the last 10 years (hip, p = 0.0056; shoulder, p = 0.0017). Over the same period, there was significant increase in the proportion of examinations performed at 3 Tesla versus 1.5 (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Overall, there was a downward trend in MR shoulder and hip arthrogram utilization in the second half of this 20-year study period. However, utilization varied somewhat by referring specialties and credentials. These changes are likely reflective of both improvements in image quality and evolving practice recommendations. Awareness of such trends may be valuable in ensuring appropriate patient care, as well as for anticipating the needs of a musculoskeletal radiology practice.

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Data availability

The author(s) declare(s) that they had full access to all of the data in this study and the author(s) take(s) complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

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Author notes

  1. Hamilton-Cave, Matthew A. and Al-dulaimi, Ragheed contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

    Matthew A. Hamilton-Cave

  2. Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Ragheed Al-dulaimi, Jennifer S. McDonald, Michael D. Ringler & Christin A. Tiegs-Heiden

Authors
  1. Matthew A. Hamilton-Cave
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  2. Ragheed Al-dulaimi
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  3. Jennifer S. McDonald
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  5. Christin A. Tiegs-Heiden
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christin A. Tiegs-Heiden.

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Ethics approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Competing interests

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:

Jennifer S. McDonald reports a relationship with GE Healthcare that includes consulting or advisory and funding grants. The other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Hamilton-Cave, M.A., Al-dulaimi, R., McDonald, J.S. et al. Utilization trends for MR arthrography of the hip and shoulder: a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 20-year data from a tertiary care academic medical center. Skeletal Radiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-024-04717-0

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