Table 3.

Dichotomized Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcome	UC Group (n = 110)		EPT Group (n = 110)		Relative Risk* (95% CI)
	Total Events, n	Patients, n (%)	Total Events, n	Patients, n (%)
Health care use outcome†
Surgery (discectomy, decompression, fusion)	7	7 (6.4)	9	9 (8.3)	1.3 (0.50–3.4)
Lumbar epidural injection	20	14 (12.8)	25	15 (13.9)	1.1 (0.55–2.1)
Advanced imaging (magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scan)	38	31 (28.2)	30	24 (21.8)	0.78 (0.49–1.2)
Emergency department visit	11	11 (10.0)	11	10 (9.1)	0.92 (0.41–2.1)
Missed work	–	60 (55.0)	–	54 (50.0)	0.91 (0.70–1.2)
Patient-reported success‡
4 wk	–	13 (12.3)	–	30 (28.6)	2.3 (1.3–4.2)
6 mo	–	27 (27.0)	–	34 (35.4)	1.3 (0.86–2.0)
1 y	–	27 (27.6)	–	42 (45.2)	1.6 (1.1–2.4)

EPT = early physical therapy; UC = usual care.

^*Indicates the likelihood of occurrence of the outcome in the EPT group compared with the likelihood of its occurrence in the UC group. A value >1.0 indicates a greater likelihood of the outcome in the EPT group. A value <1.0 indicates a lower likelihood in the EPT group.

^†217 participants reported.

^‡Patient-reported success was collected from a single-item rating of the amount of improvement since beginning the study with responses on a 15-level Likert scale. Responses were dichotomized to define success as occurring when a rating of “a great deal better” or “a very great deal better” was selected. A total of 211 patients reported at 4 wk, 196 at 6 mo, and 191 at 1 y.