Emergency Department Management of Patients With Low Back Pain: A Review of Current Evidence

CME Information

Date of Original Release: November 1, 2024. Date of most recent review: October 10, 2024. Termination date: November 1, 2027.

Accreditation: EB Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation: EB Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Specialty CME: Not applicable. For more information, call Customer Service at 678-366-7933.

ACEP Accreditation: Emergency Medicine Practice is approved by the American College of Emergency Physicians for 48 hours of ACEP Category I credit per annual subscription.

AAFP Accreditation: The AAFP has reviewed Emergency Medicine Practice, and deemed it acceptable for AAFP credit. Term of approval is from 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. This session, Emergency Department Management of Patients With Low Back Pain: A Review of Current Evidences, is approved for 4.0 enduring material AAFP Prescribed credits.

AOA Accreditation: Emergency Medicine Practice is eligible for 4 Category 2-B credit hours per issue by the American Osteopathic Association.

Needs Assessment: The need for this educational activity was determined by a practice gap analysis; a survey of medical staff, including the editorial board of this publication; review of morbidity and mortality data from the CDC, AHA, NCHS, and ACEP; and evaluation responses from prior educational activities for emergency physicians.

Target Audience: This enduring material is designed for emergency medicine physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and residents.

Goals: Upon completion of this activity, you should be able to: (1) identify areas in practice that require modification to be consistent with current evidence in order to improve competence and performance; (2) develop strategies to accurately diagnose and treat both common and critical ED presentations; and (3) demonstrate informed medical decision-making based on the strongest clinical evidence.

CME Objectives: Upon completion of this activity, you should be able to: (1) list the red-flag findings for serious spinal pathology in patients with low back pain and the recommended management strategies for emergent causes; (2) outline the features of the history and physical examination of patients with low back pain to appropriately direct management; (3) describe the imaging options and indications for patients with low back pain; and (4) describe evidence-based pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments for low back pain.

Discussion of Investigational Information: As part of the activity, faculty may be presenting investigational information about pharmaceutical products that is outside Food and Drug Administration approved labeling. Information presented as part of this activity is intended solely as continuing medical education and is not intended to promote off-label use of any pharmaceutical product.

Disclosure: It is the policy of EB Medicine to ensure objectivity, balance, independence, transparency, and scientific rigor in all CME activities. All individuals in a position to control content have disclosed all financial relationships with ACCME-defined ineligible companies. EB Medicine has assessed all relationships with ineligible companies disclosed, identified those financial relationships deemed relevant, and appropriately mitigated all relevant financial relationships based on each individual’s role(s). Please find disclosure information for this activity below:

Planners

• Daniel J. Egan, MD (Course Director): Nothing to Disclose
• Andy Jagoda, MD (Editor-in-Chief):
  • Pfizer (Consultant/Advisor)
  • Janssen (Consultant/Advisor)
  • Abbott Laboratories (Consultant/Advisor)
• Kaushal Shah, MD (Associate Editor-in-Chief): Nothing to Disclose

Faculty

• Kevin Molyneaux, MD, MPH (Author): Nothing to Disclose
• Sabena Vaswani, MD, MPH (Author): Nothing to Disclose
• John Rozehnal, MD (Peer Reviewer): Nothing to Disclose
• Randy Sorge, MD (Peer Reviewer): Nothing to Disclose
• Aimee Mishler, PharmD (Pharmacology Editor): Nothing to Disclose
• Joseph D. Toscano, MD (Research Editor): Nothing to Disclose
• Dorothy Whisenhunt, MS (Content Editor): Nothing to Disclose
• Cheryl Belton, PhD (Content Editor): Nothing to Disclose

Commercial Support: This issue of Emergency Medicine Practice did not receive any commercial support.

Earning Credit: (1) Go online to www.ebmedicine.net/CME and click on the title of the test you wish to take. When completed, a CME certificate will be emailed to you.

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