The diagnostic yield of head and neck imaging in symptomatic patients with a normal clinical examination.

Aim: Nationally, concern has been raised about the overuse of diagnostic testing. In patients with unilateral otalgia and no history of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC), 1% had a malignancy detected on imaging that was not detected on clinical examination.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of "MRI soft tissue neck" scans performed at our hospital from May 2020 to May 2021.