Initial presentation for acute low back pain: is early physical therapy associated with healthcare utilization and spending? A retrospective review of a National Database

Table 2 Thirty-day healthcare utilization among patients who presented for the first time with low back pain by receipt of early physical therapy, from the Truven MarketScan database (2010–2014)

Resource	N (%)		OR (95% CI)^a	OR (95% CI)^b
Resource	Early PT, n = 110,834	No Early PT, n = 868,389	OR (95% CI)^a	OR (95% CI)^b
Advanced imaging	14,572 (13)	182,971 (21)	0.57 (0.56–0.58)	0.59 (0.58–0.60)
Chiropractor visit	8469 (7.6)	146,073 (17)	0.41 (0.40–0.42)	0.43 (0.42–0.44)
ED visit	1775 (1.6)	26,772 (3.1)	0.51 (0.49–0.54)	0.54 (0.53–0.59)
ESI	3994 (3.6)	45,546 (5.2)	0.68 (0.65–0.70)	0.66 (0.62–0.70)
Orthopaedic visit	12,479 (11)	137,893 (16)	0.67 (0.66–0.69)	0.68 (0.67–0.70)
Pain specialist visit	3959 (3.6)	61,399 (7.1)	0.49 (0.47–0.51)	0.47 (0.43–0.50)
Total spending, $	747 ± 940^c	799 ± 1510^c

CI confidence interval, ED emergency department, ESI epidural steroid injection, OR odds ratio, PT physical therapy
^aReferent is patients who did not receive early PT
^bWeighted by inverse propensity score based on employment status, geographic location, and industry classification of the employer
^cReported as mean ± standard deviation

ISSN: 1472-6963