title: Report of the National Institutes of Health task force on research standards for chronic low back pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients' lives. Such cLBP is often termed nonspecific and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. The purpose of this article is to disseminate the report of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) task force on research standards for cLBP.
  
  
  METHODS
  The NIH Pain Consortium charged a research task force (RTF) to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel developed a 3-stage process, each with a 2-day meeting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimal data set to describe research subjects (drawing heavily on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System methodology); reporting "responder analyses" in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved these recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The RTF believes that these recommendations will advance the field, help to resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurologic, and other mechanistic substrates of cLBP. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes. We expect the RTF recommendations will become a dynamic document and undergo continual improvement.
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR; Professor, Department of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR; Professor, Department of Public Health & Community Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR. Electronic address: deyor@ohsu.edu.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Deyo
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Samuel F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Dworkin
authors.affiliation: Research Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amtmann
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.affiliation: Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Borenstein
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carragee
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carrino
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR; Professor, Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Research Associate Professor, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Karon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: DeLitto
authors.affiliation: Vice Chancellor of Research & Health Policy, Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, IA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goertz
authors.affiliation: Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health, Division of Extramural Research, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Partap
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khalsa
authors.affiliation: Professor Emeritus, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Professor Emeritus, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loeser
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.affiliation: Program Director, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIH, Orthopaedics Research Program, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Panagis
authors.affiliation: Chief, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New England Baptist Hospital, Roxbury Crossing, MA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rainville
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine and The Dartmouth Institute, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH.
authors.forename: Tor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tosteson
authors.affiliation: Professor Emeritus, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Turk
authors.affiliation: Senior Investigator, Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Von Korff
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; Professor, Department of Anesthesiology; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. Geriatric Research, Educational and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Debra K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Weiner
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards*; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D014481:United States
keywords: Chronic Pain; Low Back Pain; Patient Outcome Assessment; Research Design