Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33310802›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2020

Study protocol randomised controlled trial comparison of cost-utility and cost-effectiveness of a face-to-face rehabilitation programme versus a telemedicine programme in the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain.

Adelaida M Castro-Sanchez, Guillermo Adolfo Matarán-Peñarrocha, Silvia Gómez-García, Héctor García-López, Lazaro Andronis, Manuel Albornoz-Cabello, Inmaculada C Lara Palomo

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04266366 (Comparison of Cost and Cost- Effectiveness of a Face-to-Face Rehabilitation Program vs an Telemedicine Program on Disability, Pain, Fear of Movement, Quality of Life and Spinal Mobility in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 25% 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.

NCT04266366 nacompletednot on this map

Comparison of Cost and Cost- Effectiveness of a Face-to-Face Rehabilitation Program vs an Telemedicine Program on Disability, Pain, Fear of Movement, Quality of Life and Spinal Mobility in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversidad de AlmeriaRan2020 to 2022Enrolled540ConditionsLow Back PainArmsFace-to-Face Rehabilitation program, Telemedicine program
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Models of care for managing non-specific low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Patient experiences receiving rehabilitation careFrontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2023
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
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

7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Adelaida M Castro-SanchezEnfermería, Fisioterapia y Medicina, Universidad de Almeria, Almeria, Spain.
Guillermo Adolfo Matarán-PeñarrochaAndalusian Health Service, Family Medicine and Primary Care, Distrito Sanitario Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
Silvia Gómez-GarcíaClinical Rehabilitation Management Unit, Torrecárdenas University Hospital of Almería, Almería, Spain.
Héctor García-LópezDepartment Physical Therapy, Universidad De Almeria Facultad de Ciencias de la Educacion Enfermeria y Fisioterapia, Almeria, Spain.
Lazaro AndronisDivision of Clinical Trials, Warwick Meidical School, University of Warwick, Birmingham and Coventry, UK.
Manuel Albornoz-CabelloDepartment of Physiotherapy, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-3865-0634
Inmaculada C Lara PalomoDepartment Physical Therapy, Universidad De Almeria Facultad de Ciencias de la Educacion Enfermeria y Fisioterapia, Almeria, Spain inma.lara.palomo@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-1899-2063
University of Almería · ESAndalusian Health Service · ESComplejo Hospitalario Torrecárdenas · ESUniversidad de Sevilla · ESUniversity of Warwick · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionChronic lower back pain is a highly prevalent medical condition in Western countries, which that incurs a considerable social and economic burden. Although prescription exercise at home for chronic pain has become a widely used alternative to reduce healthcare costs, the evidence regarding patient adherence and decreased in costs in European countries is scarce and inconclusive. The objective of this study is to examine the cost-utility and cost-effectiveness in patients with chronic lower back pain treated with the McKenzie Method and electroanalgesia via a telemedicine programme versus a face-to-face programme. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study reports the protocol for a randomised, two-arm, multicentre, parallel controlled trial. A total of 540 patients with chronic lower back pain (onset time ≥3 months, Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire ≥4) will be recruited in three hospitals in Andalusia. Participants will be assigned to one of two groups (n=270, respectively) to receive electroanalgesia and Mckenzie method exercises through a telemedicine or a face-to-face programme. A total of 24 sessions will be administered three times a week for 8 weeks. Since the study design does not allow participant blinding, the outcome assessor and the statistician will be blinded. Use of helth care resources and costs due to work absenteeism will be captured and analysed. In addition, pain, intensity, fear of movement, quality of life and strength of the core muscle and anteflexion lumbar will be recorded at 2 and 6 months after the start of treatment. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Human Research and Local Ethics Committee of the 'Hospital Complex Torrecárdenas of Almeria, University Hospital of Granada and Virgen Macarena de Sevilla Hospital-Andalusian Health Service'. Study findings will be released to the research, clinical and health service through publication in international journals and conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04266366.

Indexed as

Chronic PainLow Back PainTelemedicineCost-Benefit AnalysisEuropeHumansMulticenter Studies as TopicQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment Outcomehealth economicsmusculoskeletal disorderspain managementprotocols & guidelinesrehabilitation medicine

Identifiers

PMID33310802
PMCPMC7735081
OpenAlexW3113087045

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.