Management of acute non-specific low back pain in the emergency department: do emergency physicians follow the guidelines? Results of a cross-sectional survey.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Clinical guidelines for acute non-specific low back pain (LBP) recommend avoiding imaging studies or invasive treatments and to advise patients to stay active. The aim of this study was to evaluate the management of acute non-specific LBP in the emergency departments (ED).

Setting

We invited all department chiefs of Swiss EDs and their physician staff to participate in a web-based survey using two clinical case vignettes of patients with acute non-specific LBP presenting to an ED. In both cases, no neurological deficits or red flags were present. Guideline adherence and low-value care was defined based on current guideline recommendations.

Results

In total, 263 ED physicians completed at least one vignette, while 212 completed both vignettes (43% residents,

SUBMITTER: Jermini-Gianinazzi I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10407374 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature