CC BY 4.0 DEED Attribution 4.0 InternationalMcDonnell, PatriciaJagadamma, KaviRangra, Prateek2024-04-012024-04-012024-03-292024-02-15McDonnell, P., Jagadamma, K.C. and Rangra, P. (2024) ‘A clinical audit of the Emergency Department: Doctors’ opinions on the diagnosis and management of cervical spine radiculopathy’, Musculoskeletal Care, 22(2), p. e1878. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1878.https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/13707https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1878From Wiley via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2024-02-15, rev-recd 2024-03-13, accepted 2024-03-18, epub 2024-03-29, ppub 2024-06Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedPatricia McDonnell - ORCID:0009-0000-4254-2930 https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4254-2930Kavi Jagadamma - ORCID: 0000-0003-2011-0744 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2011-0744Objective: A clinical audit was carried out on the opinions of doctors working in the Emergency Department (ED) of a large urban hospital regarding the diagnosis and management of cervical spine radiculopathy (CSR). Using international guidelines and current research, it aimed to determine if patients attending this ED were diagnosed and managed in line with best practice, and to identify any discrepancies or areas for improvement in relation to this. Method: Doctors working in this ED were sent an online questionnaire and descriptive analysis was performed on the results to ascertain how they diagnose and manage patients who present with symptoms of CSR. It covered; presentation and definitions of CSR, identification of red flags, clinical tests used, diagnostic test criteria, appropriate management, education and advice given, and the criteria for further management. Additionally, it looked at their opinion on the services' needs. Results: Most agreed that CSR will improve within 4 weeks with non‐operative management; however, there was a lack of consensus regarding the most affected nerve root, differential diagnosis and appropriate diagnostic tests. Opinions aligned regarding the identification of red flags and early management, especially with widespread neurological deficits. However, the management of ongoing pain or new neurological signs, differed between clinicians. Most participants strongly agreed that access to MRIs affected referrals within an ED episode. Conclusion: Overall, the opinions matched recommended guidelines; however, some gaps in knowledge and differing management approaches were identified, indicating the need for ongoing education and standardisation of management.e1878Licence for VoR version of this article: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/© 2024 The Authors. Musculoskeletal Care published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Healthcare QualityClinical AuditCervical RadiculopathyNerve Root DisorderEmergency DepartmentNerve Root CompressionEmergency Roomarticle2024-03-30