Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists)

This is the short wrist x-ray — two views rather than the fuller series — billed for both wrists. Two views answer the blunt questions: is the bone broken, has it moved, is the joint space worn. Filming both wrists is usual when the question is a joint disease rather than an injury, because the pattern across the two sides is part of the answer.

This explanation has not been reviewed by a person yet.

What it is

Two views of a wrist — one from the front, one from the side — are the minimum that makes a wrist film interpretable, because the eight small bones of the wrist stack behind one another when seen from a single direction. This is the limited version of the study. It is enough to show an obvious break, to confirm that a bone that was set is still where it was put, and to show how much room is left in the joints, but it is a smaller study than the three-or-more-view series ordered when a subtle fracture is the concern.

The both-sides version exists largely because some of the conditions that affect wrists do not stay on one side. In inflammatory joint disease the same joints tend to be involved on the left and the right, so the two wrists are imaged together and read as a pair.

Why it is done

To check a known or suspected wrist fracture from two directions, including after the bones have been manipulated back into position
To confirm that a splint or cast is holding alignment during healing, when a full series is not needed each time
To look at the joint spaces and the bone around them in long-standing wrist pain and swelling
To compare left and right when the pattern of joint involvement across both wrists is part of what is being worked out
To follow bone changes at intervals in someone already diagnosed with an inflammatory joint condition

What to expect

The forearm and hand rest flat on the plate for the first image, then the arm is turned onto its edge for the second; both wrists are done one after the other. Each exposure is brief and the room time is a few minutes. No preparation, no recovery, and jewelry comes off first. A radiologist reads the images. When the study is being used to track a joint condition over years, the value is in the comparison with the older films, so it helps if previous images are available to the same reader.

Questions worth asking

Was a two-view study ordered or a full series? They are different codes at different prices, and the number of views taken should match what is billed.
If this is being repeated at intervals to follow a joint condition, how often is it expected, and is each round a fresh charge including the reading?
If prior wrist films were taken elsewhere, can they be sent over for comparison rather than repeated here?
Is the imaging being done inside the rheumatology or orthopaedic practice, or referred to a hospital department where a facility fee is added?

What Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) costs by state

Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Texas — 109 hospitals, median $318.50
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Florida — 82 hospitals, median $601.05
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Ohio — 67 hospitals, median $352.30
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in California — 66 hospitals, median $305.28
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $374.40
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $254.50
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $77.43
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Pennsylvania — 33 hospitals, median $273.60
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $315.48
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Iowa — 28 hospitals, median $197.16
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $300.00
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $290.40
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $333.85
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Washington — 25 hospitals, median $244.00
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in New Jersey — 23 hospitals, median $97.54
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $104.19
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Arizona — 22 hospitals, median $88.21
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Kentucky — 22 hospitals, median $518.40
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Missouri — 21 hospitals, median $203.50
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $257.66
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Oklahoma — 18 hospitals, median $261.30
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $930.31
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $201.60
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $169.03
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $165.00
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $184.50
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $220.35
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $76.34
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $237.00
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Arkansas — 10 hospitals, median $326.95
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $294.10
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $289.60
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $463.32
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $438.91
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $192.80
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $218.24
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $166.72
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $106.80
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $188.80
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $225.54
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $90.48
Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $293.05

Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Wrist X-ray (2 views, both wrists) cost — see all prices →

Sources

MedlinePlus: Rheumatoid arthritis (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
MedlinePlus: Bone x-ray (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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