Clinical evaluation and red flags of acute low back pain in primary care

Authors

  • Marwah Y. Abdullah Department of Family Medicine, East Jeddah Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Reem A. Bana Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  • Seham O. Aldogil Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  • Mutlaq A. Alsolami Department of Emergency Medicine, Anak General Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
  • Reem A. Alshihri College of Medicine, Ibn Sina National College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Mohammed H. Alotaibi Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Albaha, Saudi Arabia
  • Shahd A. Alharbi College of Medicine, Ibn Sina National College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Hisham H. Alqari College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia
  • Reem M. Alsaadi Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  • Khulood A. Sindi Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  • Noor B. Alshamase Al Nahda Primary Healthcare, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Abdulrahman F. Albouq College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
  • Hammad A. Alshaikh Department of Cardiology, King Salman Medical City, Medina, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20220006

Keywords:

Acute low-back pain, Clinical, Assessment, Diagnosis, Treatment, Red flags

Abstract

Back pain has been reported as a common cause for various patients to present in an emergency or primary care settings. Besides, the management of back pain has been associated with a huge economic burden and remarkably impacts the quality of life of the affected patients. The diagnosis of acute low-back pain can be adequately achieved by conducting proper clinical evaluation and knowing the characteristics of each condition. The present review discusses the clinical evaluation and red flags for diagnosing patients presenting with acute low-back pain. An adequate examination of patients is conducted by obtaining a thorough history and successful physical examination. It should be noted that obtaining an adequate history might not be enough in some cases, and physical examination might not show any diagnostic clues. However, we also reported various red flags for detecting serious conditions, including malignancy, infections, inflammation, and others. These might help establish a further assessment of these patients, including imaging and laboratory studies. Therefore, these cases should be managed as early as possible to enhance the prognosis and intervene against any potential complications.

 

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Published

2022-01-28

How to Cite

Abdullah, M. Y., Bana, R. A., Aldogil, S. O., Alsolami, M. A., Alshihri, R. A., Alotaibi, M. H., Alharbi, S. A., Alqari, H. H., Alsaadi, R. M., Sindi, K. A., Alshamase, N. B., Albouq, A. F., & Alshaikh, H. A. (2022). Clinical evaluation and red flags of acute low back pain in primary care. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 9(2), 1113–1117. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20220006

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Section

Review Articles