Emergency department use by people with back pain: An investigation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Demand on emergency departments (EDs) is rising, at least in part due to patients with conditions suitable for management in primary care. Pain experienced in the back region is a common reason for patients to seek help and much of the established literature on back pain suggests serious pathologies are rare and the majority of patients can be safely treated in primary care. Emerging international data suggests that patients who present to ED complaining of back pain do not reflect those in primary care, with a higher rate of serious pathologies and non-spinal causes. This exploratory study seeks to quantify the prevalence of people attending ED with back pain, to describe their characteristics and the characteristics of their attendance.

Methods

This observationa

SUBMITTER: Capsey M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9940253 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature