Observational studyThe Australian journal of rural health2022
Low back pain presentations to rural, regional, and metropolitan emergency departments.
Observational study in The Australian journal of rural health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Global prevalence of hospital admissions for low back pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Systematic review of predictors of hospitalisation for non-specific low back pain with or without referred leg pain.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Emergency department visits among rural and urban older adults: disparities in ambulatory and emergency care sensitive conditions.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Hospitalisations for non-specific low back pain in people presenting to South Australian public hospital emergency departments.Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA · 2025Observational
- Patient and Staff Insights on Digital Care Pathways for Patients With Low Back Pain in the Emergency Department: A Qualitative Study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Australian emergency department care for older adults diagnosed with low back pain of lumbar spine origin: a retrospective analysis of electronic medical record system data (2016-2019).BMC emergency medicine · 2023Article
- Low back pain presentations to rural, regional, and metropolitan emergency departments.The Australian journal of rural health · 2022Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe the context of low back pain (LBP) presentations to emergency departments (EDs) by remoteness areas, hospital delineation level and staffing portfolios.
designA retrospective observational study using routinely captured ED and admission data over a 5-year period (July 2014-June 2019). SETTINGS: Thirty seven EDs across a large health district in NSW, Australia, covering major cities, inner regional areas and outer regional areas.
participantsEmergency department (ED) presentations with a principal or secondary diagnosis of LBP based on ICD-10 code (M54.5).
main outcome measuresED presentation and associated admission measures, including presentation rate, referral source, time in ED, re-presentation rate, admission details and cost to the health system.
resultsThere were 26 509 ED presentations for LBP across the 5 years. Time spent in ED was 206 min for EDs in major cities, 146 min for inner regional EDs and 89 min for outer regional EDs. Re-presentation rates were 6% in major cities, 8.8% in inner regional EDs and 11.8% in outer regional EDs. Admission rates were 20.4%, 15.8% and 18.8%, respectively.
conclusionsThis study describes LBP presentations across 37 EDs, highlighting the potential burden these presentations place on hospitals. LBP presentations appear to follow different pathways depending on the ED remoteness area, delineation level and staff portfolio.
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