A new study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine examines emergency room visits for patients with low back pain.
The researchers examined the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for low back pain patients discharged from hospitals in the United States from 1998 to 2007. There were 183,151 patients who received a low back pain primary diagnosis during the study period.
Here are five things to know:
1. The majority — 65 percent — of the patients were admitted through the emergency room. There was a significant increase in low back pain patients admitted through the ER from 1998 to 2005; around 54 percent were admitted through the ER in 1998 versus 71 percent in 2005.
2. The patients without insurance and African American patients were significantly more likely to be admitted through the ER when compared with Caucasian patients or patients with private insurance. Patients with pre-existing comorbidities were also more likely to enter through the ER.
3. There was an 11 percent incremental increase in the odds a patient would be admitted through the ER with each year increment, according to the report.
4. The patients with higher incomes — $45,000 or more — were more likely to be admitted through the ER than patients who had lowest incomes.
5. Being admitted through the ER increased the odds of non-routine discharge but didn't impact mortality risk.
"The findings suggest that socioeconomic factors may play a role in the utilization of ER resources by patients with LBP, which in turn appears to impact at least the short-term outcomes of these patients," concluded the study authors.