Table 3 Patient characteristics of individuals presenting with a complaint of low back pain and diagnosed with various definitions of low back pain
Characteristic | Non-specific/mechanical LBP with No Potential Nerve Root Involvement n = 7845 | Non-specific/mechanical LBP with Potential Nerve Root Involvement n = 871 | LBP Attributed to Secondary Factors n = 1290 |
|---|---|---|---|
Age, years (Median, IQR) | 43 (29,57) | 46 (36,57) | 58 (38,76) |
Female sex (#,%) | 4133 (52.7) | 476 (54.6) | 737 (57.1) |
CTAS (median, IQR)) | 4 (3–4) | 4 (3–4) | 3 (3–3) |
Primary Care Provider (#,%) | 7411 (94.5) | 825 (94.7) | 1233 (95.6) |
Type of ED visit (#,%) | |||
 Direct to Consult | 54 (0.7) | 19 (2.2) | 142 (11.0) |
 Referral from GP | 12 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 5 (0.4) |
 Return Visit | 19 (0.2) | 6 (0.7) | 5 (0.4) |
 Missing | 1315 (16.8) | 149 (17.1) | 227 (17.6) |
 Other (Emergency presentation) | 6445 (82.1) | 695 (79.8) | 911 (70.6) |
Hospital admission [#(%)] | 120 (1.5) | 39 (4.5) | 410 (31.9) |
Length of stay, hrs (Median, IQR) | 2.8 (1.8–4.4) | 2.9 (1.7–4.9) | 5.5 (3.5–9.2) |
Responsibility for payment (#,%) | |||
 Department of Health, NS | 6364 (81.1) | 751 (86.2) | 1124 (87.1) |
 Worker’s Compensation Board, NS | 31 (0.4) | 47 (5.4) | 28 (2.2) |
 Other | 1292 (16.5) | 55 (6.3) | 95 (7.4) |
 Missing | 158 (2.0) | 18 (2.1) | 43 (3.3) |