General Practitioners Referring Adults to MR Imaging for Knee Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess Cost-effectiveness

356 patients who presented to primary care with traumatic knee symptoms were randomized to either receive a referral for MRI by the general practitioner, or to usual care as per the Dutch clinical guideline, with potential referral to an orthopaedic surgeon. The purpose of this study was to determine if a referral for MRI from primary care was a cost-effective treatment pathway for this patient population. Assessment of cost-utility suggested that routine referral for MRI from primary care was not cost-effective.