Evaluation and Treatment Patterns of New Low Back Pain Episodes for Elderly Adults in the United States, 2011-2014.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

New low back pain (LBP) is a common outpatient complaint. Little is known about how care is delivered over the course of a year to patients who develop new LBP and whether such care patterns are guideline-concordant.

Methods

This retrospective analysis included Medicare claims of 162,238 opioid-naïve beneficiaries with new LBP from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2014. Simple rates of modality use [computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (advanced imaging), physical therapy (PT), opioid and nonopioid medications] and percentiles (5th percentile, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile, and 95th percentile) were reported.

Results

Within the first year, 29.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 29.1-29.8] of patients with ≥2 visits for new LBP

SUBMITTER: Ly DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8118194 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature