title: Consensus summary of the diagnosis and treatment of lumbar disc herniation.
abstract: Clinicians must not simply decide that a patient with symptoms and a positive diagnostic test has a reason for a specific treatment, and likewise clinicians must not decide that a patient with symptoms and a negative test does not have a clinically important problem. We must also consider the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of the diagnostic test and the individual characteristics of the patient. Treatment outcome depends on many factors. Point of service decisions vs population based decisions are obviously different. Each patient presents to the treating practitioner on a given day, at a given time, and it is this picture upon which a plan of care is formulated.
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dvorak
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kambin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malter
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McCulloch
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Saal
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Spratt
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Weinstein
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011859:Radiography; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome