TY - JOUR AU - Foster, Nadine E. AU - Konstantinou, Kika AU - Lewis, Martyn AU - Ogollah, Reuben AU - Dunn, Kate M. AU - van der Windt, Danielle AU - Beardmore, Ruth AU - Artus, Majid AU - Bartlam, Bernadette AU - Hill, Jonathan C. AU - Jowett, Sue AU - Kigozi, Jesse AU - Mallen, Christian AU - Saunders, Benjamin AU - Hay, Elaine M. PY - 2017 DA - 2017/04/26 TI - The clinical and cost-effectiveness of stratified care for patients with sciatica: the SCOPiC randomised controlled trial protocol (ISRCTN75449581) JO - BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders SP - 172 VL - 18 IS - 1 AB - Sciatica has a substantial impact on patients, and is associated with high healthcare and societal costs. Although there is variation in the clinical management of sciatica, the current model of care usually involves an initial period of ‘wait and see’ for most patients, with simple measures of advice and analgesia, followed by conservative and/or more invasive interventions if symptoms fail to resolve. A model of care is needed that does not over-treat those with a good prognosis yet identifies patients who do need more intensive treatment to help with symptoms, and return to everyday function including work. The aim of the SCOPiC trial (SCiatica Outcomes in Primary Care) is to establish whether stratified care based on subgrouping using a combination of prognostic and clinical information, with matched care pathways, is more effective than non-stratified care, for improving time to symptom resolution in patients consulting with sciatica in primary care. We will also assess the impact of stratified care on service delivery and evaluate its cost-effectiveness compared to non-stratified care. SN - 1471-2474 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-017-1513-5 DO - 10.1186/s12891-017-1513-5 ID - Foster2017 ER -