Themes that emerged included doctors ' attitudes and beliefs , and four factors that influenced attitudes and beliefs : doctors ' specialty , demographic factors , personal beliefs and education .
There was consistent evidence that doctors ' specialty impacted their attitudes and beliefs : lack of consensus regarding the natural history of LBP , around treatment options , and issues regarding work .
There was inconsistent evidence that demographic factors ( age ) and level of education impacted doctors ' attitudes and beliefs .
Long term , these changes in these areas have the potential to maximise patient-care , and reduce costs to health services
The aim of this systematic review was to determine the attitudes and beliefs of doctors to acute low back pain , and the factors that influence these .
Adherence of Irish general practitioners to European guidelines for acute low back pain: a prospective pilot study.
There are no national low back pain ( LBP ) clinical guidelines in Irel and , and neither the level of adherence of General Practitioners ( GPs ) to the European guidelines , nor the cost of LBP to the patient and the state , have been investigated . A prospect i ve pilot study was conducted on 54 consenting patients ( 18 M , 36F : mean age ( SD ) : 40.5 ( 14.3 ) years ) with a new episode of acute LBP ( <3 months ) attending one of nine participating GPs . Baseline demographic , LBP classification [ i.e. simple back ache ( SBA ) , nerve root pain ( NRP ) , serious spinal pathology ( SSP ) ] and primary care management data were recorded over a three month period . Adherence and costs were estimated based on : medication prescription , referral for investigations , treatment or consultations , and wage replacement costs ( time signed off work ) . For both SBA and NRP , medication prescriptions were consistent with European guideline recommendations , but not for referral for further treatment ( 39 % of SBA patients were referred on first visit ) , secondary care ( 54 % of NRP patients were referred on first visit ) , or discontinuation of work ( 50 % NRP patients on first GP visit ) . The average total cost ( direct and wage replacement ) for a single episode of LBP over 12 weeks was 20,531 Euros ( 20,300 - 20,762 ) . Direct costs accounted for 43 % [ 8874.36 Euros , ( 8643.37 - 9105.37 Euros ) ] and wage replacement costs 57 % ( 11,657 Euros ) . In conclusion , management of acute LBP in a cohort of GPs in Irel and was not consistent with European clinical guideline recommendations , and warrants higher levels of postgraduate education among GPs , as well as restructuring of primary care services , which should improve patient outcome and reduce costs
Themes that emerged included doctors ' attitudes and beliefs , and four factors that influenced attitudes and beliefs : doctors ' specialty , demographic factors , personal beliefs and education .
There was consistent evidence that doctors ' specialty impacted their attitudes and beliefs : lack of consensus regarding the natural history of LBP , around treatment options , and issues regarding work .
There was inconsistent evidence that demographic factors ( age ) and level of education impacted doctors ' attitudes and beliefs .
Long term , these changes in these areas have the potential to maximise patient-care , and reduce costs to health services
The aim of this systematic review was to determine the attitudes and beliefs of doctors to acute low back pain , and the factors that influence these .