Table 3.

Factors associated with the spinal pathologies featured in the Bayesian network (BN) as taken from Finucane et al [22] (cauda equina syndrome, spinal infection, fracture, and malignancy), McCrum [23] (inflammatory condition), and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline 59 [24] (nerve root condition).

Factors associated with spinal pathology			Contained in BN
Cauda equina syndrome [22]
	Unilateral radicular pain
	Bilateral radicular pain	✓
	Dermatomal reduced sensation
	Myotomal weakness	✓
	Changes to bladder function	✓
	Changes to bowl function	✓
	Saddle sensory disturbance	✓
Malignancy [22]
	History of cancer	✓
	Night pain
	Requiring strong pain killers	✓
	Weight loss	✓
	Balance issues
	Odd sensations in legs	✓
Fracture [22]
	History of cancer
	Multiple myeloma
	Osteoporosis	✓
	Severe pain or worsening pain
	Age	✓
	Sex
	Smoker
	Pain worse when lying supine
	Early menopause or late menarche
	History of fracture
Spinal infection [22]
	Immunosuppression	✓
	Steroid use	✓
	Smoking
	Obesity
	History of TBa	✓
	Fever	✓
	Neurological dysfunction	✓
	User of intravenous drugs	✓
	Night pain	✓
Inflammatory condition [23]
	Age	✓
	Waking at night
	Improvement with movement
	Improvement with NSAIDsb
	Past enthesitis, psoriasis, or arthritis	✓
	Family history
	Uveitis	✓
	Inflammatory bowel disease	✓
Nerve root condition [24]
	Unilateral leg pain
	Dermatomal changes
	Myotomal weakness	✓
	Straight leg raise test positive
	Age
	Smoking
	Obesity

^aTB: tuberculosis.

^bNSAID: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.