National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health of the National Institutes of Health.

Key Points Question Is the transition from acute to chronic low back pain (LBP) associated with risk strata, defined by a standardized prognostic tool, and/or with early exposure to guideline nonconcordant care? Findings In this cohort study of 5233 patients with acute LBP from 77 primary care practices, nearly half the patients were exposed to at least 1 guideline nonconcordant recommendation within the first 21 days after the index visit. Patients were significantly more likely to transition to chronic LBP as their risk on the prognostic tool increased and as they were exposed to more nonconcordant recommendations. Meaning In this study, the transition rate to chronic LBP was substantial and increased correspondingly with risk strata and early exposure to guideline nonconcordant care.

The treatment-based classification (TBC) system for the treatment of patients with low back pain (LBP) has been in use by clinicians since 1995. This perspective article describes how the TBC was updated by maintaining its strengths, addressing its limitations, and incorporating recent research developments. The current update of the TBC has 2 levels of triage: (1) the level of the first-contact health care provider and (2) the level of the rehabilitation provider. At the level of first-contact health care provider, the purpose of the triage is to determine whether the patient is an appropriate candidate for rehabilitation, either by ruling out serious pathologies and serious comorbidities or by determining whether the patient is appropriate for self-care management. At the level of the rehabilitation provider, the purpose of the triage is to determine the most appropriate rehabilitation approach given the patient's clinical presentation. Three rehabilitation approaches are described. A symptom modulation approach is described for patients with a recent-new or recurrent-LBP episode that has caused significant symptomatic features. A movement control approach is described for patients with moderate pain and disability status. A function optimization approach is described for patients with low pain and disability status. This perspective article emphasizes that psychological and comorbid status should be assessed and addressed in each patient. This updated TBC is linked to the American Physical Therapy Association's clinical practice guidelines for low back pain.

Background: Many patients with acute low back pain (LBP) first seek care from primary care physicians. Evidence is lacking for interventions to prevent transition to chronic LBP in this setting. We aimed to test if implementation of a risk-stratified approach to care would result in lower rates of chronic LBP and improved self-reported disability. Methods: We conducted a pragmatic, cluster randomized trial using 77 primary care clinics in four health care systems across the United States. Practices were randomly assigned to a stratified approach to care (intervention) or usual care (control). Using the STarTBack screening tool, adults with acute LBP were screened low, medium, and high-risk. Patients screened as high-risk were eligible. The intervention included electronic best practice alerts triggering referrals for psychologically informed physical therapy (PIPT). PIPT education was targeted to community clinics geographically close to intervention primary care clinics. Primary outcomes were transition to chronic LBP and self-reported disability at six months. Trial Registry: Clini-calTrials.gov NCT02647658 Findings: Between May 2016 and June 2018, 1207 patients from 38 intervention and 1093 from 37 control practices were followed. In the intervention arm, around 50% of patients were referred for physical therapy (36% for PIPT) compared to 30% in the control. At 6 months, 47% of patients reported transition to chronic LBP in the intervention arm (38 practices, n = 658) versus 51% of patients in the control arm (35 practices, n = 635; OR=0.83 95% CI 0.64, 1.09; p = 0.18). No differences in disability were detected (difference -2¢1, 95% CI -4.9À0.6; p = 0.12). Opioids and imaging were prescribed in 22%À25% and 23%À26% of initial visits, for intervention and control, respectively. Twelve-month LBP utilization was similar in the two groups. Interpretation: There were no differences detected in transition to chronic LBP among patients presenting with acute LBP using a stratified approach to care. Opioid and imaging prescribing rates were non-concordant with clinical guidelines.

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