title: Ignoring the sacroiliac joint in chronic low back pain is costly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasing evidence supports minimally invasive sacroiliac joint (SIJ) fusion as a safe and effective treatment for SIJ dysfunction. Failure to include the SIJ in the diagnostic evaluation of low back pain could result in unnecessary health care expenses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Decision analytic cost model.
  
  
  METHODS
  A decision analytic model calculating 2-year direct health care costs in patients with chronic low back pain considering lumbar fusion surgery was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The strategy of including the SIJ in the preoperative diagnostic workup of chronic low back pain saves an expected US$3,100 per patient over 2 years. Cost savings were robust to reasonable ranges for costs and probabilities, such as the probability of diagnosis and the probability of successful surgical treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Including the SIJ as part of the diagnostic strategy in preoperative patients with chronic low back pain is likely to be cost saving in the short term.
authors: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors: David W
authors: DW
authors: Polly
authors: SI-BONE, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Cher
keywords: chronic low back pain; decision modeling; healthcare costs; lumbar fusion; sacroiliac joint fusion; sacroiliac joint pain