Archives of trauma research
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Acute low back pain is a common cause for presentation to the emergency department (ED). Since benign etiologies account for 95% of cases, red flags are used to identify sinister causes that require prompt management. ⋯ The predictive value of the two statistically significant red flags only marginally raises the clinical suspicion of spinal cord or cauda equina compression. Effective risk stratification of patients presenting to the ED with acute back pain is crucial; however, this study did not support the use of these red flags in their current form.
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Estimating pain in patients of intensive care unit (ICU) is essential, but because of their special situation, verbal scales cannot be used. Therefore, to estimate the level of pain, behavioral pain scale was developed by Payen in 2001. ⋯ BPS in patients with low level of consciousness due to head trauma has strong reliability and validity. Therefore, this scale can be used for patients hospitalized in ICU to assess the level of pain.