Patients with lower back pain frequently visit the emergency department and were three times more likely to receive diagnostic imaging tests in 2006 than they were four years earlier, according to a study published in Spine.
Researchers examined data from emergency room visits from around the country and found that lower back pain disorders caused 2.63 million annual ED visits in the U.S. Thirty percent of the patients received some type of diagnostic imaging, with 9.6 percent receiving either CT or MRI in 2006, compared with 3.2 percent of patients in 2002.
Age and type of insurance were associated with advanced imaging. Opioids were the most frequently used class of medication prescribed at discharge.
Read the abstract for "Diagnostic Testing and Treatment of Low Back Pain in United States Emergency Departments: A National Perspective."
Read other coverage on back pain:
- Expectations Among Workers' Compensation Patients for Back Pain Recovery Could Affect Outcomes
- Studies Show Promise of Two Spine Procedures to Provide Pain Relief in Back Patients
- Study: Sondylolsis More Likely in Coronally Oriented Facet Joints
Researchers examined data from emergency room visits from around the country and found that lower back pain disorders caused 2.63 million annual ED visits in the U.S. Thirty percent of the patients received some type of diagnostic imaging, with 9.6 percent receiving either CT or MRI in 2006, compared with 3.2 percent of patients in 2002.
Age and type of insurance were associated with advanced imaging. Opioids were the most frequently used class of medication prescribed at discharge.
Read the abstract for "Diagnostic Testing and Treatment of Low Back Pain in United States Emergency Departments: A National Perspective."
Read other coverage on back pain:
- Expectations Among Workers' Compensation Patients for Back Pain Recovery Could Affect Outcomes
- Studies Show Promise of Two Spine Procedures to Provide Pain Relief in Back Patients
- Study: Sondylolsis More Likely in Coronally Oriented Facet Joints