Survey of general practitioners' opinions on the role of radiology in patients with low back pain.

Ninety general practitioners responded to a questionnaire about the role of radiology in patients with low back pain. Their clinical indications for requesting radiographs were mostly in agreement with the opinions of radiologists, but nearly 80% requested investigations for their own or patients' reassurance. Understanding of the terms used by radiologists was good, although 25% thought that acute disc prolapse could be demonstrated on plain films. Previous training in radiology did not seem to influence knowledge. When general practitioners understood radiological terms they had clear therapeutic and specialist referral preferences. Poorly understood terms and those with which they were familiar but unclear about the implications for management were also identified.