Back pain differential diagnosis: Difference between revisions

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! colspan="9" |Symptoms
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! colspan="4" |Signs
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!Lab findings
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|Quality of pain  
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|Fever
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|Rigors and chills
!Rigors and chills
|Headache
!Headache
|Nausea and vomiting
!Nausea and vomiting
|Weight loss
!Weight loss
|Motor weakness
!Motor weakness
|Sensory deficit
!Sensory deficit
|Bowel or bladder dysfunction
!Bowel or bladder dysfunction
|Horner's syndrome
!Horner's syndrome
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Revision as of 14:01, 22 March 2018

Back pain Microchapters

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Hadeel Maksoud M.D.[2]


An expert algorithm to assist in the diagnosis of back pain can be found here

Overview

There are several life-threatening causes of back pain which need to be evaluated for first, which include; spinal cord or cauda equina compression, aortic dissection, aortic aneurysm, vertebral osteomyelitis, epidural abscess, and metastatic cancer. The other possible causes of back pain can be evaluated for by carefully assessing the nature of the pain, and obtaining a thorough patient history.

Differential Diagnosis

  • 5 life threatening diseases to exclude immediately:[1][2][3][4][2][3][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
    • Spinal cord or cauda equina compression
    • Aortic dissection
    • Aortic aneurysm
    • Vertebral osteomyelitis
    • Epidural abscess
    • Metastatic cancer
  • The frequency of conditions exclusive of the above in a descending order is:
    • Vertebral compression fracture
    • Radiculopathy
    • Spinal stenosis
    • Ankylosing spondylitis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Scoliosis
    • Hyperkyphosis
    • Psychologic distress
  • The frequency of conditions outside the spine exclusive of the above in a descending order is:
    • Muscle spasm
    • Prolonged sitting
    • Piriformis syndrome
    • Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
    • Bertolotti's syndrome (Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae)

Differential Diagnosis of Back Pain

Classification of pain in the back based on etiology Diease Clinical Manifestation Diagnosis Comments
Symptoms Signs Lab findings Imaging
Onset Duration Quality of pain Stiffness Fever Rigors and chills Headache Nausea and vomiting Weight loss Motor weakness Sensory deficit Bowel or bladder dysfunction Horner's syndrome
Vascular Aortic dissection
Aortic aneurysm

- Abdominal aneurysm

- Thoracic aneurysm

Neurological Spinal cord compression

- Thoracic spine

- Lumbar spine

Cauda equina compression
Radiculopathy
Epidural abscess
Bone Discitis
Vertebral osteomyelitis
Septic sacroilitis
Vertebral compression fracture
Spinal stenosis
Osteoarthritis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Chronic recurrent focal osteomyelitis
Scoliosis
Hyperkyphosis
Spondylosis

- Spondylolisthesis

Scheuermann (juvenile) kyphosis
Disc herniation
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Bertolotti's syndrome (Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae)
Non-spinal infections Pyomyositis
Pyelonephritis
Nephrolithiasis
Pelvic inflammatory disease
Pneumonia
Endocarditis
Myalgia
Cystitis
Cholelithiasis
Appendicitis
Inflammatory arthritis
Tumors Osteoid osteoma
Osteoblastoma
Ewing sarcoma
Osteosarcoma
Lymphoma
Prostate cancer
Neurofibroma
Leukemia
Langerhan cell histocytosis (eosinophilic granulomas)
Muscle-related Pyriformis syndrome
Muscle spasm
Prolonged sitting
Miscellaneous Herpes zoster
Sickle cell anemia
Syringomyelia
Ureteropelvic junction obstruction
Chronic pain syndrome
Psychologic distress

References

  1. Chou R, Qaseem A, Owens DK, Shekelle P (February 2011). "Diagnostic imaging for low back pain: advice for high-value health care from the American College of Physicians". Ann. Intern. Med. 154 (3): 181–9. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-154-3-201102010-00008. PMID 21282698.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Schiff D, O'Neill BP, Suman VJ (August 1997). "Spinal epidural metastasis as the initial manifestation of malignancy: clinical features and diagnostic approach". Neurology. 49 (2): 452–6. PMID 9270576.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Deyo RA, Diehl AK (1988). "Cancer as a cause of back pain: frequency, clinical presentation, and diagnostic strategies". J Gen Intern Med. 3 (3): 230–8. PMID 2967893.
  4. Sun JC, Xu T, Chen KF, Qian W, Liu K, Shi JG, Yuan W, Jia LS (April 2014). "Assessment of cauda equina syndrome progression pattern to improve diagnosis". Spine. 39 (7): 596–602. doi:10.1097/BRS.0000000000000079. PMID 24150427.
  5. Jarvik JG, Deyo RA (October 2002). "Diagnostic evaluation of low back pain with emphasis on imaging". Ann. Intern. Med. 137 (7): 586–97. PMID 12353946.
  6. Underwood MR, Dawes P (November 1995). "Inflammatory back pain in primary care". Br. J. Rheumatol. 34 (11): 1074–7. PMID 8542211.
  7. "Acute low back problems in adults: assessment and treatment. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research". Clin Pract Guidel Quick Ref Guide Clin (14): iii–iv, 1–25. December 1994. PMID 7987418.
  8. Ropper AH, Zafonte RD (March 2015). "Sciatica". N. Engl. J. Med. 372 (13): 1240–8. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1410151. PMID 25806916.
  9. Delitto A, Piva SR, Moore CG, Fritz JM, Wisniewski SR, Josbeno DA, Fye M, Welch WC (April 2015). "Surgery versus nonsurgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis: a randomized trial". Ann. Intern. Med. 162 (7): 465–73. doi:10.7326/M14-1420. PMID 25844995.
  10. Papadopoulos EC, Khan SN (January 2004). "Piriformis syndrome and low back pain: a new classification and review of the literature". Orthop. Clin. North Am. 35 (1): 65–71. doi:10.1016/S0030-5898(03)00105-6. PMID 15062719.
  11. Hopayian K, Song F, Riera R, Sambandan S (December 2010). "The clinical features of the piriformis syndrome: a systematic review". Eur Spine J. 19 (12): 2095–109. doi:10.1007/s00586-010-1504-9. PMC 2997212. PMID 20596735.
  12. Potter NA, Rothstein JM (November 1985). "Intertester reliability for selected clinical tests of the sacroiliac joint". Phys Ther. 65 (11): 1671–5. PMID 2932746.
  13. Russel AS, Maksymowych W, LeClercq S (December 1981). "Clinical examination of the sacroiliac joints: a prospective study". Arthritis Rheum. 24 (12): 1575–7. PMID 7326071.
  14. Levangie PK (November 1999). "Four clinical tests of sacroiliac joint dysfunction: the association of test results with innominate torsion among patients with and without low back pain". Phys Ther. 79 (11): 1043–57. PMID 10534797.
  15. Riddle DL, Freburger JK (August 2002). "Evaluation of the presence of sacroiliac joint region dysfunction using a combination of tests: a multicenter intertester reliability study". Phys Ther. 82 (8): 772–81. PMID 12147007.
  16. Irwin RW, Watson T, Minick RP, Ambrosius WT (January 2007). "Age, body mass index, and gender differences in sacroiliac joint pathology". Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 86 (1): 37–44. PMID 17304687.
  17. Jancuska JM, Spivak JM, Bendo JA (2015). "A Review of Symptomatic Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebrae: Bertolotti's Syndrome". Int J Spine Surg. 9: 42. doi:10.14444/2042. PMC 4603258. PMID 26484005.


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