Early multidisciplinary evaluation and advice was ineffective for whiplash-associated disorders.
BACKGROUND
Whiplash is the most common type of injury reported in traffic accidents, but the effectiveness of conservative treatment for whiplash lacks evidence.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of early multidisciplinary evaluation and advice on the frequency of chronic neck pain three years post-injury in persons with minor or moderate traffic injuries.


METHODS
In an insurance setting, we tested the effect by (1) a risk score matched prospective cohort design, (2) a propensity score matched nested case-control design and, (3) a risk and propensity score adjusted multivariate analysis in an unmatched prospective cohort design. We simulated unobserved risk and propensity factors to evaluate the robustness of the results for hidden bias.


RESULTS
All three designs showed a significantly increased risk for chronic neck pain among those who received the intervention compared to those who did not. The relative risks ranged from 1.7 (95% CI: 1.0-2.6) to 2.6 (95% CI: 1.5-4.0). The results were robust to hidden bias.


CONCLUSIONS
The consistency of the findings across the different designs strongly suggest that early multidisciplinary evaluation and advice increased the risk of having chronic neck pain three years following a minor or moderate traffic injury. Literally, the intervention may therefore have done more harm than good.
Pape
Eivind
E
Expert Services Medicine, If P&C Insurance Company Ltd., PO Box 240, 1326 Lysaker, Norway.
Hagen
Kåre B
KB
Brox
Jens I
JI
Natvig
Bård
B
Schirmer
Helge
H
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007341:Insurance; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000150:complications*