Admission of patients with back pain in a state hospital in the municipality of Serra – ES

Abstract

Introduction: Back pain often culminates in the search for health services in hospital emergency departments. In addition to being a major expense, it is questionable whether the public with this complaint is going to the best place for care in this situation. Objective: To describe the admission characteristics of patients with back pain in a state hospital. Methods: This is a descriptive, retrospective observational study with secondary data from admissions to a state hospital in Espírito Santo in 2019, observed by analyzing the institution's database. The sample of 3,240 was presented by age, sex, place of origin, risk classification, type of specialist and type of consultation and distributed by ICD10. Results: The participants had an average age of 43.69 years, and the majority were female (56.56%). Most participants (89.43%) came to the hospital from their own residence. Of the total sample, 68.4% received the risk classification as urgent. Of the consultations performed, the majority (77.3%) were referred for care with a neurosurgeon. According to the ICD-10 classification system provided by the physicians, the most representative code of the sample was M545 (Low back pain). Conclusion: Most cases of back pain that were admitted to the hospital emergency department were considered nonspecific, however, most were referred to a neurosurgeon. Instead of most participants being seen by specialists, the general practitioner should have been the most frequent first option.