Abstract
Aims: For the scaphoid, several views are needed to visualise the whole bone. These sets of views are routinely called “scaphoid views”. However certain views are better than others for imaging particular parts of the scaphoid. The authors believe that asking for scaphoid views from the radiology department often leads to a wide variety and number of radiographic views being taken, even when a protocol is in place. Methods: 50 radiographers from 4 London teaching hospitals were asked which and how many views of the scaphoid they would take, at initial presentation and in the outpatient setting. They were also asked to describe and demonstrate exactly how they would take the view(s) chosen. Results: We found a wide variation in the descriptive terms used by radiographers for particular views. There was also little agreement on how many and which views to take despite protocols being in place. Conclusion: Not only is their complete lack of agreement on what “scaphoid views” should be, it was also discovered that there was little agreement on the nomenclature of the individual views themselves. This can lead to loss of information from the wrong views being taken as well as unnecessary radiation exposure. The lack of nomenclature also leads to confusion between radiologists, radiographers and surgeons.
Theses abstracts were prepared by Professor Dr. Frantz Langlais. Correspondence should be addressed to him at EFORT Central Office, Freihofstrasse 22, CH-8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland.
