Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37085316›Full record

SynthesisBMJ open2023

Global prevalence of hospital admissions for low back pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Alla Melman, Harrison J Lord, Danielle Coombs, Joshua Zadro, Christopher G Maher, Gustavo C Machado

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
7.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. 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 · 2024
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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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Alla MelmanThe University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia alla.melman@sydney.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0003-3726-1477
Harrison J LordFaculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Danielle CoombsThe University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Joshua ZadroThe University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-8981-2125
Christopher G MaherThe University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1628-7857
Gustavo C MachadoThe University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8544-0448
The University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo determine the proportion of low back pain presentations that are admitted to hospital from the emergency department (ED), the proportion of hospital admissions due to a primary diagnosis of low back pain and the mean hospital length of stay (LOS), globally.

methodsWe searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO and LILACS from inception to July 2022. Secondary data were retrieved from publicly available government agency publications and international databases. Studies investigating admitted patients aged >18 years with a primary diagnosis of musculoskeletal low back pain and/or lumbosacral radicular pain were included.

resultsThere was high heterogeneity in admission rates for low back pain from the ED, with a median of 9.6% (IQR 3.3-25.2; 9 countries). The median percentage of all hospital admissions that were due to low back pain was 0.9% (IQR 0.6-1.5; 30 countries). The median hospital LOS across 39 countries was 6.2 days for 'dorsalgia' (IQR 4.4-8.6) and 5.4 days for 'intervertebral disc disorders' (IQR 4.1-8.4). Low back pain admissions per 100 000 population had a median of 159.1 (IQR 82.6-313.8). The overall quality of the evidence was moderate.

conclusionThis is the first systematic review with meta-analysis summarising the global prevalence of hospital admissions and hospital LOS for low back pain. There was relatively sparse data from rural and regional regions and low-income countries, as well as high heterogeneity in the results.

Indexed as

Low Back PainBack PainEmergency Service, HospitalHospitalizationHospitalsHumansLength of StayPrevalenceEPIDEMIOLOGYOrganisation of health servicesQuality in health care

Identifiers

PMID37085316
PMCPMC10124269
OpenAlexW4366743020

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.