Abstract
Low back pain is a common presentation to emergency departments, but the reasons why people choose to attend the emergency department have not been explored. We aimed to fill this gap with this study to understand why persons with low back pain choose to attend the emergency department. Between July 4, 2017 and October 1, 2018, consecutive patients with a complaint of low back pain presenting to the University of Alberta Hospital emergency department were screened. Those enrolled completed a 13-item questionnaire to assess reasons and expectations related to their presentation. Demographics, acuity and disposition were obtained electronically. Factors associated with admission were examined in a logistic regression model. After screening 812 patients, 209 participants met the study criteria. The most common Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale score was 3 (73.2%). Overall, 37 (17.7%) received at least one consultation, 89.0% of participants were discharged home, 9.6% were admitted and 1.4% were transferred. Participants had a median pain intensity of 8/10 and a median daily functioning of 3/10. When asked, 64.6% attended for pain control while 44.5% stated ease of access. Most participants expected to obtain pain medication (67%) and advice (56%). Few attended because of cost savings (3.8%). After adjustment, only advanced age and ambulance arrival were significantly associated with admission. In conclusion, most low back pain patients came to the emergency department for pain control yet few were admitted and the majority did not receive a consultation. Timely alternatives for management of low back pain in the emergency department appear needed, yet are lacking.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Artikelnummer | e0268123 |
| Tidsskrift | PLOS ONE |
| Vol/bind | 17 |
| Udgave nummer | 5 |
| Antal sider | 12 |
| ISSN | 1932-6203 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 10. maj 2022 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:This study was supported by the Emergency Medicine Research Group (EMeRG) in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Alberta. At the time of the study, Dr. Rowe’s research was supported by a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Evidence-based Emergency Medicine from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through the Government of Canada (Ottawa, ON). At the present time, Dr. Rowe’s research is supported by a Scientific Director’s Grant (168483) from CIHR. At the time of the study, Dr. Kawchuk received support through the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation (CCRF). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors would like to thank Natalie Runham for coordinating data collection and Stephanie Couperthwaite for coordinating data management. The authors would also like to thank the emergency staff at the University of Alberta Hospital for their help and assistance in this study.