European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Observational Study
Emotional distress drives health services overuse in patients with acute low back pain: a longitudinal observational study.
To determine whether emotional distress reported at the initial consultation affects subsequent healthcare use either directly or indirectly via moderating the influence of symptoms. ⋯ Emotional distress in the acute stage of low back pain increased subsequent consultation rates. Interventions that target emotional distress during the initial consultation are likely to reduce costly and potentially inappropriate future healthcare use for patients with non-specific low back pain.
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The most relevant musculoskeletal problems are related with back health. Study instruments have been designed for adult patient population but not for school-aged children. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire to assess adolescents' level of back care knowledge in daily life physical activities. ⋯ The questionnaire showed acceptable psychometric values. Results showed that this questionnaire is a good instrument to assess adolescent's back care knowledge.
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Due to advancing insights, discussing fertility in spinal care is an emerging topic. Studies among neurosurgeons to evaluate clinical practice about discussing fertility are non-existent. The aim of this study is to review knowledge, attitude and practice patterns regarding discussing fertility in spinal care. ⋯ With the exception of cauda equina syndrome, fertility is not routinely discussed in spinal care. Fertility is discussed more often with men. Recent guidelines state that discussing fertility is an essential part of good practice in spinal care. Education on fertility and FP needs to be integrated in the neurosurgical training program to create more awareness, and to enable clinicians to provide adequate information and care to the patient.
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The present study investigated the percentage of low back pain (LBP) patients who have depressive symptoms and neuropathic pain and analyzed the effects of these on the quality of life (QOL) in these patients. ⋯ Both the depressed patients and those with neuropathic LBP had a higher level of pain, greater pain-related disability, and poorer QOL compared with nondepressed patients. This is the first study to use the SDS-Zung and PDQ-J screening questionnaires to estimate the presence of neuropathic pain associated with depressive symptoms in LBP patients and to evaluate the impact of these on QOL.
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To investigate agreement and reliability among clinicians when diagnosing low back-related leg pain (LBLP) in primary care consulters. ⋯ Reliability was fair among clinicians from different backgrounds when diagnosing LBLP but improved substantially with high confidence in clinical diagnosis.