Radiology groups urge prominent medical journal to retract ‘flawed’ research on interventional procedures
Radiology groups are criticizing new research claiming that image-guided interventional procedures provide little benefit for chronic spine pain and urging the prominent journal to retract its findings.
The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) published the meta-analysis and clinical practice guideline last month. The systematic review concluded that commonly performed interventional procedures for chronic noncancer spine pain may provide “little to no pain relief.”
Medical societies including the American College of Radiology and Society of Interventional Radiology are now voicing their disapproval of the publications a month later. ACR and SIR were among 30-plus organizations signing a response letter to the BMJ.
“We acknowledge that interventional spine procedures are not universally effective, and that careful patient selection is essential,” ACR et al. wrote March 18. “When performed with technical precision and integrated into a broader, individualized treatment plan, these procedures have been shown to provide significant benefits,” they added later.
Others signing the response included the American Society of Neuroradiology, the American Society of Spine Radiology, and several international pain societies. They noted that the publications have stimulated “important dialogue” about the role of interventional procedures in managing chronic spine pain. ACR et al. also acknowledged the need for high-quality, randomized controlled trials to “allow progressive improvement in clinical care for patients with spine pain.”
“However, we must disagree that the interventional pain medicine field does not consider patient preferences for treatment and refer to two recently published guidelines that emphasize the importance of informed consent and patient values in choosing treatment,” the groups wrote. “Furthermore, based on extensive clinical experience and a review of the evidence, we, the undersigned societies comprising physicians who prescribe or perform interventional spine procedures, have serious concerns about the methodology and conclusions drawn in these publications and their potential impact on patient care.”
ACR, SIR and others are calling on researchers, physicians and policymakers to “recognize the complexity of chronic spine pain.” They want them to support expanded research and ongoing access to IR procedures “underpinned by rigorous clinical standards.”
Radiologists also are pushing the journal to withdraw its work before doing any further damage.
“Given the methodological issues discussed above and concerns regarding policy implications, we urge The BMJ to retract the flawed guideline publication,” the groups wrote.
ACR highlighted the publication and its response in a news update to its members, published Thursday.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.