| Clinical features and settings |
Patients presenting with acute LBP to medical walk‐in clinics (USA). If the initial history indicated that the patient's back pain (1) had a duration of more than 60 days, (2) was above the 12th thoracic vertebra, or (3) was attributable to conditions such as urinary tract infection or pelvic inflammatory disease, the patient was excluded from the study. |
| Participants |
Clinic logs revealed 1037 patients who presented with back pain during the study period. Medical records were reviewed for 863 (83%) of these patients. Of these, 392 were excluded. The study sample included 471 patients with acute lumbosacral back pain and a mean age of 40.8 years (range 15‐90 years). |
| Study design |
Retrospective review of medical records for patients with presenting complaints of "back pain" or "sore back". Records were reviewed at least six months after the patient initially presented. |
| Target condition and reference standard(s) |
Physician notes from visits up to six months after the initial visit were the source of follow‐up information. These notes were examined to determine if the initial back pain episode was ultimately attributed to vertebral cancer, osteomyelitis, vertebral fracture, or herniated disk. One case (0.21%) of spinal malignancy was identified. |
| Index and comparator tests |
Data were collected for 18 patient characteristics; available index test data only for age > 50 years. |
| Follow‐up |
Missing or uninterpretable data not reported |
| Notes |
|
| Table of Methodological Quality |
| Item |
Authors' judgement |
Description |
| Representative spectrum?
All tests |
Yes |
Patients presenting with low‐back pain to medical walk‐in clinics |
| Acceptable reference standard?
All tests |
Yes |
Lumbar spine roentgenograms (x‐ray) and follow‐up of physician notes for 6 months |
| Acceptable delay between tests?
All tests |
Unclear |
Unclear from text |
| Partial verification avoided?
All tests |
No |
Not reported if all patients received reference standard |
| Differential verification avoided?
All tests |
No |
Not reported if all patients received follow‐up as well as x‐ray |
| Incorporation avoided?
All tests |
Unclear |
Unclear from text |
| Reference standard results blinded?
All tests |
Unclear |
Unclear from text |
| Index test results blinded?
All tests |
Unclear |
Unclear from text |
| Relevant clinical information?
All tests |
Unclear |
Unclear from text |
| Uninterpretable results reported?
All tests |
No |
Not reported |
| Withdrawals explained?
All tests |
No |
Not reported |
