Variant 1: New or increasing nontraumatic cervical or neck pain. No “red flags.” Initial imaging.
Variant 2: New or increasing nontraumatic cervical radiculopathy. No “red flags.” Initial imaging.
Variant 3: Prior cervical spine surgery. New or increasing nontraumatic cervical or neck pain or radiculopathy. Initial imaging.
Variant 4: Suspicion for infection with new or increasing nontraumatic cervical or neck pain or radiculopathy. Initial imaging.
Variant 5: Known malignancy. New or increasing nontraumatic cervical or neck pain or radiculopathy. Initial imaging.
Variant 6: Cervicogenic headache and new or increasing nontraumatic cervical or neck pain. No neurologic deficit. Initial imaging.
Variant 7: Chronic cervical or neck pain. Initial imaging.
Variant 8: Chronic cervical or neck pain. No neurologic findings. Radiographs show degenerative changes. Next imaging study.
Variant 9: Chronic cervical or neck pain without or with radiculopathy. Radiographs show ossification in the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). Next imaging study.
Appendix Key

A more complete discussion of the items presented below can be found by accessing the supporting documents at the designated hyperlinks.

Appropriateness Category:The panel’s recommendation for a procedure based on the assessment of the risks and benefits of performing the procedure for the specified clinical scenario.

SOE: Strength of Evidence. The assessment of the amount and quality of evidence found in the peer reviewed medical literature for an appropriateness recommendation.

  • References: The citation number and PMID for the reference(s) associated with the recommendation.
  • Study Quality: The assessment of the quality of an individual reference based on the number of study quality elements described in the reference.

RRL: Relative Radiation Level. A population based assessment of the amount of radiation a typical patient may be exposed to during the specified procedure.

Rating: The final rating (1-9 scale) for the procedure as determined by the panel during rating rounds.

Median: The median rating (1-9 scale) for the procedure as determined by the panel during rating rounds.

Final tabulations: A histogram showing the number of panel members who rated the procedure as noted in the column heading (ie, 1, 2, 3, etc.).

Additional supporting documents about the AC methodology and processes can be found at www.acr.org/ac.