Article

Various guidelines for the management of low back pain have been
developed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of care. Evidence that
guideline-adherent care results in better health outcomes, however, is not conclusive. The main objective of this study was to assess whether a
higher percentage of adherence to the Dutch physical and manual therapy
guidelines for low back pain is related to improved outcomes. The study further
explored whether this relationship differs for the individual steps of the
process of care and for distinct subgroups of patients. DESIGN: This was an
observational prospective cohort study (2005-2006) in the Netherlands that
included a sample of 61 private practice therapists and 145 patients. METHODS:
Therapists recorded the process of care and the number of treatment sessions in
Web-based patient files. Guideline adherence was assessed using quality
indicators. Physical functioning was measured by the Dutch version of the Quebec
Back Pain and Disability Scale, and average pain was measured with a visual
analog scale. Relationships between the percentage of guideline adherence and
outcomes of care were evaluated with regression analyses. RESULTS: Higher
percentages of adherence were associated with fewer functional limitations
(beta=-0.21, P=.023) and fewer treatment sessions (beta=-0.27, P=.005).
LIMITATIONS: The relatively small self-selected sample might limit external
validity, but it is not expected that the small sample greatly influenced the
internal validity of the study. Larger samples are required to enable adequate
subgroup analyses. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that higher percentages of
guideline adherence are related to better improvement of physical functioning and
to a lower utilization of care. A proper assessment of the relationship between
the process of physical therapy care and outcomes may require a comprehensive set
of process indicators to measure guideline adherence.

Langue : ANGLAIS