CMC COMPENDIUM
  • RESIDENCY
    • About CMC
    • Curriculum
    • Benefits
    • Explore Charlotte
    • Official Site
  • FELLOWSHIP
    • EMS
    • Global EM
    • Pediatric EM
    • Toxicology >
      • Tox Faculty
      • Tox Application
    • (All Others)
  • PEOPLE
    • Program Leadership
    • PGY-3
    • PGY-2
    • PGY-1
    • Alumni
  • STUDENTS/APPLICANTS
    • Medical Students at CMC
    • EM Acting Internship
    • Healthcare Disparities Externship
    • Resident Mentorship
  • #FOAMed
    • EM GuideWire
    • CMC Imaging Mastery
    • Pediatric EM Morsels
    • Blogs, etc. >
      • CMC ECG Masters
      • Core Concepts
      • Cardiology Blog
      • Dr. Patel's Coding Blog
      • Global Health Blog
      • Ortho Blog
      • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
      • Tox Blog
  • Chiefs Corner
    • Top 20
    • Current Chiefs
    • Schedules >
      • Conference/Flashpoint
      • Block Schedule
      • ED Shift Schedule
      • AEC Moonlighting
      • Journal Club/OBP/Audits Schedule
      • Simulation
    • Resources >
      • Fox Reference Library
      • FlashPoint
      • Airway Lecture
      • Student Resources
      • PGY - 1
      • PGY - 2
      • PGY - 3
      • Simulation Reading
      • Resident Wellness
      • Resident Research
      • Resume Builder
    • Individualized Interactive Instruction

Back Pain - Dr. Carey

7/25/2013

0 Comments

 
Basics
  • ~3% of all primary care visits are for lower back pain, the vast majority of which is mechanical or non-specific in origin. 
  • >90% of low back pain has spontaneous resolution within two weeks regardless of treatment modality. 
  • Less than 5% have serious pathology.
EM Perspective
  • Time-sensitive emergencies = epidural abscess, cauda equina syndrome and vertebral osteomyelitis.
Red Flags
-Trauma
-Unexplained fever
-Immunosuppression/DM/steroid use
-IVDU
-Age >70
-Focal neurologic deficit
-History of spinal instrumentation
-Duration longer than 6 weeks
  • Limit imaging to patients with the ‘red flag’ symptoms, MRI is the test of choice.  If MRI is unable to be obtained, CT is the second choice.
  • Greater than 90% of disk herniations occur at L4-5 and L5-S1.  Test these motor distributions by examining ankle and great toe dorsiflexion as well as ankle plantarflexion.  Sensory distributions run along the posterior and lateral aspects of the lower extremity.
  • 2007 ACP/APS Joint Practice Guidelines recommend NSAIDs as the first line of therapy for acute lower back pain.  Studied regimens were Ibuprofen 400-600mg QID or Naproxen 220-500 mg BID for 2-4 weeks.  Other studies have shown that NSAIDs combined with Skeletal Muscle Relaxants were the most effective regimen with symptom relief at one week.
  • The classic triad of back pain, fever, and neurologic deficits only occurs in 13% of spinal epidural abscesses.
  • The most common symptom of cauda equina syndrome is urinary RETENTION.  If this pathology is suspected, provide the patient with 10mg Decadron IV prior to MRI scan to prevent progression.
  • All pediatric low back pain is ‘red flag’ back pain.  Up to 31% of these patients have a specific diagnosis such as tumors, discitis or malignancy.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    August 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Categories

    All
    Abdominal Pain
    Abdominal-pain
    Airway
    Back Pain
    Back Pain
    Bleeding
    Change-in-mental-status
    Chest Pain
    Dizziness
    Ecg
    Emboli
    Environmental
    Fever
    Gyn
    Headache
    Hypertension
    Infectious Disease
    Pain
    Pediatric Emergency
    Professionalism
    Psych
    Respiratory Distress
    Sepsis
    Shock
    Toxins
    Trauma
    Vomiting
    Weakness

    RSS Feed

    Tweets by @PedEMMorsels
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • RESIDENCY
    • About CMC
    • Curriculum
    • Benefits
    • Explore Charlotte
    • Official Site
  • FELLOWSHIP
    • EMS
    • Global EM
    • Pediatric EM
    • Toxicology >
      • Tox Faculty
      • Tox Application
    • (All Others)
  • PEOPLE
    • Program Leadership
    • PGY-3
    • PGY-2
    • PGY-1
    • Alumni
  • STUDENTS/APPLICANTS
    • Medical Students at CMC
    • EM Acting Internship
    • Healthcare Disparities Externship
    • Resident Mentorship
  • #FOAMed
    • EM GuideWire
    • CMC Imaging Mastery
    • Pediatric EM Morsels
    • Blogs, etc. >
      • CMC ECG Masters
      • Core Concepts
      • Cardiology Blog
      • Dr. Patel's Coding Blog
      • Global Health Blog
      • Ortho Blog
      • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
      • Tox Blog
  • Chiefs Corner
    • Top 20
    • Current Chiefs
    • Schedules >
      • Conference/Flashpoint
      • Block Schedule
      • ED Shift Schedule
      • AEC Moonlighting
      • Journal Club/OBP/Audits Schedule
      • Simulation
    • Resources >
      • Fox Reference Library
      • FlashPoint
      • Airway Lecture
      • Student Resources
      • PGY - 1
      • PGY - 2
      • PGY - 3
      • Simulation Reading
      • Resident Wellness
      • Resident Research
      • Resume Builder
    • Individualized Interactive Instruction