title: Development of a diagnostic checklist for low back pain patients.
abstract: The study of psychosomatic disorders implies that environmental variables, as well as attitudes and personality, can influence an individual's physical health. The present study developed a checklist composed of demographic and psychological variables to help to make diagnostic decisions related to chronic low-back pain. The need for the checklist stems from the situation that medical clinical evidence is often inconclusive to identify the etiology of patient complaints of low back pain. Cut-off scores on the checklist were able to discriminate with greater than 80% accuracy patients who received a specific medical diagnosis from patients who received a non-specific medical diagnosis. The findings provide additional support for procedures used to make difficult diagnoses of low back pain.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications; D010551:Personality; D010808:Physical Examination; D012737:Sex Factors