Although back pain is common, most often benign, and generally resolves in a few days with self-care, nonspecific low back pain that does not resolve with self-care and prompts patients to seek treatment in an ED may result from a serious underlying pathology. In this article, the first in a series on clinical red flags-indicators that can be used in the clinical setting to screen for an elevated risk of severe underlying conditions-the author considers back pain manifestations that may signal the presence of a debilitating or even fatal disease process. Detecting such red flags and communicating their presence to the attending provider can facilitate appropriate diagnosis and management.
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