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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

MDM - Musculoskeletal Back Pain

[##]-year-old [male/female] with back pain with history and exam consistent with likely musculoskeletal back pain.

Initial consideration in this patient included herniated intervertebral disc, acute ligamentous injury, acute muscle strain, spondylolisthesis and other musculoskeletal etiologies, cauda equina, spinal fracture, spinal stenosis, epidural abscess and hematoma, cancer metastases, and kidney stone among others.

Patient presented with lower back pain, and was noted to have [no/one of the] red flag signs or symptoms on presentation [describe].  Patient [reported/denied] preceding trauma.  Patient noted to have a normal neurologic examination in the ED to include deep tendon reflexes in the lower extremities.  Patient felt to have [no indication for imaging at this time/indication for imaging with plain films/MRI of the spine obtained in the ED, and noted to be unremarkable /notable for injury].  Doubt cauda equina or central herniation at this time based on [history and exam/imaging].  No history of recent surgery or injections in the back, fever, or other findings to suggest risk for epidural hematoma or abscess.  Doubt kidney stone or urinary tract infection given absence of urinary symptoms, significant costovertebral angle (CVA) tenderness, [abnormal findings on urinalysis,] or other suggestive findings.  Patient [reported/denied] history of similar episodes [with prior treatments].  Patient reported significant improvement in pain with [treatment] in the ED prior to discharge.

Prior to discharge, we discussed modified activity with emphasis on avoiding prolonged bedrest.  We discussed return precautions, specifically for worsening pain or focal neurologic deficits, treatment with [NSAIDs/muscle relaxants/etc.], and follow up with primary care doctor within one week for further evaluation, and the patient demonstrated understanding and agreement with this plan.  We specifically discussed follow up with primary care doctor for referral to physical therapy and consideration of outpatient imaging.

https://orthoinfo.org/globalassets/pdfs/2017-rehab_spine.pdf

2 comments:

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