title: Evidence-based practice: best imaging practice in musculoskeletal disorders.
abstract: As musculoskeletal disorders are a common cause of emergency department visits in the United States, it is vital for nurses and nurse practitioners to understand the decision rules for ordering imaging tests when triaging patients with musculoskeletal complaints. Proper knowledge and command of selecting the most appropriate imaging for these frequent emergency department presentations will help reduce costs, decrease ionizing radiation exposure, and increase patient throughput. This article reviews the current evidence-based literature for musculoskeletal imaging in the emergency department and discusses the epidemiology, etiology, management, and prevention of the most common musculoskeletal disorders.
authors.affiliation: Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan (Dr Khan); Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia (Drs Shuaib, Swain, Mehta, Johnson, and Khosa); Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia (Dr Evans); and Department of Medicine, Reading Health System, West Reading, Pennsylvania (Dr Alweis).
authors.forename: Muhammad Shahzeb
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Waqas
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shuaib
authors.forename: Dian Dowling
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Freddie Rodriguez
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alweis
authors.forename: Ajeet Singh
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Jamlik-Omari
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khosa
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D006801:Humans; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*