Table 1.

Primary Care Physician Orders for 9574 Patients with Acute Low Back Pain Within the First 21 Days of Initial Encounter

Total (n = 9547)
PCP Orders
 No order1,401 (15%)
 One order2,780 (29%)
 Two orders2,743 (29%)
 Three orders1,702 (18%)
 Non-pharmacologic only729 (8%)
 Pharmacologic only3,124 (33%)
 Multiple pharmacologic3,400 (36%)
Concordant with Guidelines *
 Non-pharmacologic3,390 (36%)
 Physical therapy3,321 (34%)
 Physical therapy + NSAID1,057 (11%)
 Physical therapy + Muscle relaxant1,247 (13%)
Partially Concordant with Guidelines*
 Non-pharmacologic + 2nd Line Pharm1,267 (13%)
 Physical therapy + Steroid790 (8%)
 Physical therapy + Opioid502 (5%)
 Physical therapy + Radiograph721 (8%)
Non-concordant with Guidelines*
 Opioid1,706 (18%)
 Opioid + Muscle relaxant742 (8%)
 Opioid + NSAID397 (4%)
 Steroid2,356 (25%)
 Steroid + Muscle relaxant1,181 (12%)
 Steroid + NSAID473 (5%)
 MRI or Radiograph2,238 (23%)
 Solely 2nd Line Pharmacologic, Imaging,  or Specialty1,306 (14%)

  • Notes. All values are n (%) where n is the number of patients who received the order.

  • *Rows are not mutually exclusive (i.e., patients who received physical therapy + NSAID are also included in the physical therapy row) unless otherwise stated.

  • Abbreviations: NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PCP, primary care physicians.