P087: Overview of reviews: relevant treatment modalities for management of low back pain in the emergency department

Abstract

Introduction: Low Back Pain (LBP) remains a condition with relatively high incidence and prevalence. It affects 70-85% of people at some point in their lives and causes significant disability. LBP management may be best suited to a primary care setting, yet it is one of the most common reasons for presentation to Emergency Departments (ED). Nationally representative data from the United States found that LBP related disorders are a frequent cause of ED visits, accounting for 2.7 million visits to US EDs annually. There are numerous treatment modalities for LBP, however the task is identifying those that have relevance in an ED setting. Although there is extensive research available on management of LBP in primary care settings, treatment outcomes differ from that in the ED setting. This makes management of LBP a challenge for ED physicians. Few studies and no systematic reviews focus on treatment of LBP in the ED setting. Methods: The objective of our study is to compare effectiveness of treatment modalities relevant for management of LBP in the ED setting. We conducted an Overview of Systematic Reviews following robust methods advocated by Cochrane. We included systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A medical librarian assisted in completing of an extensive search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMBASE. We used transparent criteria to select relevant reviews and assess interventions for ED relevance. We collected key data points from the included reviews including pain and functional limitation outcomes. Evidence will be synthesized for important outcome measures following the approach of Jones et al (2012). Results: We screened 4740 citations and identified 346 likely relevant systematic reviews. Comparative effectiveness review synthesis will be completed before the conference. We will report effectiveness of each of the included interventions and as well as make head to head comparisons of said relevant interventions. Conclusion: Currently most LBP patients presenting to the ED are inundated with a variety of potential treatment modalities, all alleging efficacy in LBP management. Physicians may use the evidence from this synthesis, and related knowledge translation tools, to guide decisions in effectively treating patients presenting to the ED with LBP.