Red flags for potential serious pathologies in people with neck pain: a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

We conducted a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines to identify red flags for serious pathologies in neck pain mentioned in clinical practice guidelines, to evaluate agreement in red flag recommendations across guidelines, and to investigate the level of evidence including what study type the recommendations are based on.

Methods

We searched for guidelines focusing on specific and nonspecific neck pain in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PEDro up to June 9, 2023. Additionally, we searched for guidelines through citation tracking strategies, by consulting experts in the field, and by checking guideline organization databases.

Results

We included 29 guidelines, 12 of which provided a total of 114 red flags for fracture (n = 17), cancer (n = 21), spinal inf

SUBMITTER: Feller D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11618059 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature