Observational studyBrazilian journal of physical therapy
Referral of people with low back pain to physical therapists in Brazilian primary healthcare: A challenge revealed.
Observational study in Brazilian journal of physical therapy. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow back pain (LBP) is a disabling condition worldwide, and current evidence suggests low rates of referral to physical therapists and extensive use of low-value interventions such as pharmacological treatments and emergency visits.
objectiveTo investigate the frequency of referrals and characterize people with LBP accessing primary care physical therapists, as well as characterize clinical and sociodemographic aspects and the use of health resources in Brazil.
methodObservational study using nationwide data on 1,459,710 adults with LBP, stratified according to G1: medical care only, G2: medical care and referral to physical therapist, G3: physical therapist as first contact. Data were analyzed descriptively.
results1,405,145 people with LBP were included in G1, followed by G2 (N:14,079), and G3 (N:40,486). The majority was female (56.3 %), and the average age was 49 (±17) years for females and 48 (±17) for males. Less than 1 % (G2) were referred to physical therapists. Of these, 8085 (57.4 %) had an average duration of 17.4 days (±65.6) between referral and their clinical appointment, and 5994 (42.6 %) had a longer duration (261.1 ± 146.9 days). A total of 130,570 (8.9 %) participants were referred for imaging, totaling 152,150 exams. G1 had 105.65 exams/1000 people and 128 referrals to specialists/1000 people. G2 had 196.32 exams and 384.76 referrals to specialists/1000 people, and G3 had 22.87 exams and 64.89 referrals to specialists/1000 people.
conclusionWe found a relatively low number of referrals of people with LBP to physical therapists in primary health care in Brazil, and a long period between the referral and the first contact with this professional. In addition, diagnostic imaging and referral to a specialist were frequently used.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.