ArticleCanadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie2017
Evaluation of an advanced-practice physiotherapist in triaging patients with lumbar spine pain: surgeon-physiotherapist level of agreement and patient satisfaction.
Article in Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Patient satisfaction with advanced practice physiotherapy internationally: A systematic mixed studies review.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Advanced practice physiotherapy for adults with spinal pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2021Pooled it
- Increasing Utilization of Advanced Practice Providers in Spine Surgery from 2013 to 2022: A Medicare Part B Analysis.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2026Article
- Article
- Efficiency of telephone triage in the assessment of low back pain at a tertiary spine clinic.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Observational
- The Impact of a Physiotherapy-Led Virtual Clinic in a South Australian Hospital: A Quantitative and Qualitative Investigation.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Assessment of differential diagnostic skills of physiotherapists related to the cervical spine - approaches to improving effectiveness: observational, cross-sectional study.BMC medical education · 2025Observational
- Patients' Experience With Evaluation by Both a Musculoskeletal Physician and Physical Therapist in the Same Digital Visit: Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Reorganizing outpatient spine services increased efficiency and patient satisfaction.Brain & spine · 2025Article
- Patient-Reported Experiences of Musculoskeletal Virtual Care Delivered by Advanced Practice Physiotherapists.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2024Article
- The Musculoskeletal 30-question multiple choice questionnaire (MSK-30): a new assessing tool of musculoskeletal competence in a sample of Italian physiotherapists.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Patient gender does not influence referral to an orthopaedic surgeon by advanced practice orthopaedic providers: a prospective observational study in Canada.BMC health services research · 2021Observational
- Article
- A successful, cost-effective low back pain triage system: a pilot study.North American Spine Society journal · 2021Article
- Second opinion in spine surgery: A scoping review.Surgical neurology international · 2021Article
- Can a physiotherapy student assume the role of an advanced practice physiotherapist in Orthopaedic surgery triage? A prospective observational study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2019Observational
- Article
- An observational study on trajectories and outcomes of chronic low back pain patients referred from a spine surgery division for chiropractic treatment.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2019Observational
- Article
- Wait times for degenerative lumbar spine consultation and surgery: a repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network.Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgieObservational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSurgery for lumbar spine pain is indicated for specific etiologies. Given the majority of individuals referred to spine surgeons are not surgical candidates, care delivery is inefficient, with consultations being of limited value for most. Using specially trained physiotherapists in triage is a human resource strategy that may optimize surgeons' time and the patient experience.
methodsAn advanced-practice physiotherapist (APP) and a surgeon assessed consecutive patients with lumbar spine pain presenting at an academic health centre's spine surgery clinic. The second assessor was blinded to the outcome of the first. We used the κ statistic to evaluate surgeon-APP level of chance-corrected agreement concerning patients' need for a surgical consultation. To assess satisfaction with the APP, patients completed a modified version of the validated Visit-specific Questionnaire.
resultsThe sample included 102 participants (54 women) with a mean age of 54.3 ± 14.3 years and a mean Oswestry Disability Index score of 35.4 ± 16.6. The assessors' overall agreement was 86%. The κ coefficient for the need for a surgical consultation was 0.69 (95% confidence interval 0.54-0.84). The APP identified that 77% of patients did not require a surgical consultation. Twenty-one patients underwent surgery. Satisfaction scores for the APP were very high (mean score 92 out of 100).
conclusionIn triaging patients with lumbar spine pain, the APP and surgeon had a high level of agreement. An APP performing triage at a surgical centre can effectively reduce wait lists by 70%, reserving surgical consultations for those patients in whom they are indicated.
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