Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32530795›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of manual & manipulative therapy2021

Referral patterns for surgical consult in the management of patients with foot drop due to acute lumbar disc herniation: a survey study of physical therapists in the United States.

Adam Wielechowski, Aaron Keil, Karrie Hamstra-Wright

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 47% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Adam WielechowskiDepartment of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Aaron KeilDepartment of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Karrie Hamstra-WrightDepartment of Kinesiology and Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
University of Illinois Chicago · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is a lack of consensus for optimal management of patients with foot drop due to acute lumbar disc herniation (LDH) with lumbar radiculopathy (LR), which is a clinical scenario that may be encountered by physical therapists. Consequently, it is important to explore physical therapists' referral practice patterns for surgical consult. Currently, physical therapist referral patterns for surgical consult in this patient population are unknown.

objectivesTo describe physical therapist referral patterns for immediate neurosurgical consult in patients with foot drop due to suspected acute LDH with LR.

designCross-sectional descriptive research design using an electronic, internet-based survey that utilized two clinical vignettes.

methodAn electronic survey was developed by an expert peer review panel. Survey participants were licensed physical therapists in the United States and members of the Orthopedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

resultsOf the individuals receiving the survey invitation, 2172 completed the survey. Depending on the severity of foot drop, 34-61% were likely to refer for immediate neurosurgical consult. Presence of imaging to confirm suspected clinical diagnosis slightly affected the likelihood of referral (4-12% increase) for immediate neurosurgical consult.

conclusionIn patients with foot drop due to suspected acute LDH with LR, this study found that physical therapist referral patterns for immediate neurosurgical consult varied and are likely influenced by the severity of weakness and availability of MRI findings. Further research regarding the optimal management of this patient population and potential reasons for variation in practice is warranted.

Indexed as

Intervertebral Disc DisplacementPeroneal NeuropathiesPhysical TherapistsCross-Sectional StudiesHumansReferral and ConsultationUnited StatesCross-sectional studiesintervertebral disc diseasephysical therapistssurvey

Identifiers

PMID32530795
PMCPMC8023593
OpenAlexW3034997686

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.