Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37298035›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2023

Referrals, Symptoms and Treatment of Patients Referred to a Secondary Spine Centre-How Can We Help?

Ruud Droeghaag, Daphne Nabben, Anouk Smeets, Wouter van Hemert, Narender van Orshoven, Henk van Santbrink, Jasper Most, Inez Curfs

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Ruud DroeghaagDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zuyderland Medical Centre, Henri Dunantstraat 5, 6419 PC Heerlen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-0955-7983
Daphne NabbenDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zuyderland Medical Centre, Henri Dunantstraat 5, 6419 PC Heerlen, The Netherlands.
Anouk SmeetsDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Wouter van HemertDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zuyderland Medical Centre, Henri Dunantstraat 5, 6419 PC Heerlen, The Netherlands.
Narender van OrshovenDepartment of Neurology Zuyderland Medical Centre, Henri Dunantstraat 5, 6419 PC Heerlen, The Netherlands.
Henk van SantbrinkCAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Jasper MostDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zuyderland Medical Centre, Henri Dunantstraat 5, 6419 PC Heerlen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-8591-5629
Inez CurfsDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zuyderland Medical Centre, Henri Dunantstraat 5, 6419 PC Heerlen, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionSpinal disorders are amongst the conditions with the highest burden of disease. To limit the increase of healthcare-related costs in the ageing population, the selection of different types of care for patients with spinal disorders should be optimized. The first step is to investigate the characteristics of these patients and the relationship with treatment. RESEARCH QUESTION: The primary aim of this study was to provide insights in the characteristics, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of patients referred to a specialized spinal health care centre. The secondary aim was to perform an in-depth analysis of resource utilization for a representative subgroup of patients.

methodsThis study describes the characteristics of 4855 patients referred to a secondary spine centre. Moreover, an extensive analysis of a representative subgroup of patients (~20%) is performed.

resultsThe mean age was 58.1, 56% of patients were female, and the mean BMI was 28. In addition, 28% of patients used opioids. Mean self-reported health status was 53.3 (EuroQol 5D Visual Analogue Scale), and pain ranged from 5.8 to 6.7 (Visual Analogue Scale neck/back/arm/leg). Additional imaging was received by 67.7% of patients. Surgical treatment was indicated for 4.9% of patients. The majority (83%) of non-surgically treated patients received out-of-hospital treatment; 25% of patients received no additional imaging or in-hospital treatment.

conclusionThe vast majority of patients received non-surgical treatments. We observed that ~10% of patients did not receive in-hospital imaging or treatment and had acceptable or good questionnaire scores at the time of referral. These findings suggest that there is potential for improvement in efficacy of referral, diagnosis, and treatment. Future studies should aim to develop an evidence base for improved patient selection for clinical pathways. The efficacy of chosen treatments requires investigation of large cohorts.

Indexed as

burden of diseasecharacteristicsconservative carehealthcare optimizationpatient-reported outcome measuressecondary spine centre

Identifiers

PMID37298035
PMCPMC10253721

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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.