Effects of Diagnostic Information, Per Se, on Patient Outcomes in Acute Radiculopathy and Low Back Pain

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Fig 1.
Flow chart of study algorithm. Major stages of the study are highlighted, as well as the number of patients in the blinded and unblinded groups in each stage.
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Fig 2.
GH scores of unblinded and blinded patients at baseline; 2, 4, and 6 weeks; and 1 year.

Table 1:

Comparison of unblinded and blinded patients at baseline

Variable	Unblinded	Blinded	Unadjusted P
No. of patients (%)	131 (53.3%)	115 (46.7%)
Mean age	42.8 (SD = 10.3)	43.3 (SD = 10.6)	.733
No. of women (%)	79 (55.6%)	63 (44.4%)	.382
No. of people of color (%)	40 (54.8%)	33 (45.2%)	.732
Mean years of education	14.5 (SD = 2.9)	15.0 (SD = 2.7)	.087
Mean no. of sick days	2.4 (SD = 4.1)	2.4 (SD = 4.2)	.682
No. with radiculopathy (%)	76 (58.0%)	74 (49.3%)	.310
Mean Roland score	13.9 (SD = 5.2)	12.4 (SD = 5.8)	.054
Mean VPAS for average pain	5.3 (SD = 1.8)	5.2 (SD = 2.0)	.867
Mean VPAS for worst pain	8.8 (SD = 1.4)	8.3 (SD = 2.1)	.180
Mean self-efficacy pain	55.4 (SD = 21.7)	59.3 (SD = 22.9)	.165
Mean self-efficacy other	60.5 (SD = 21.6)	64.2 (SD = 21.0)	.186
Mean FAQ physical activity	17.0 (SD = 5.8)	17.4 (SD = 5.5)	.517
Mean FAQ work	14.4 (SD = 10.9)	14.4 (SD = 10.8)	.975
Mean SF-36: PF	45.3 (SD = 25.1)	47.6 (SD = 26.5)	.517
Mean SF-36: RP	17.4 (SD = 30.7)	22.8 (SD = 35.1)	.287
Mean SF-36: BP	28.9 (SD = 30.7)	33.7 (SD = 21.5)	.093
Mean SF-36: GH	73.4 (SD = 18.3)	74.7 (SD = 16.1)	.723
Mean SF-36: VT	41.5 (SD = 22.0)	46.9 (SD = 20.2)	.032
Mean SF-36: SF	57.4 (SD = 32.5)	62.5 (SD = 30.3)	.252
Mean SF-36: RE	74.9 (SD = 38.7)	77.3 (SD = 35.7)	.904
Mean SF-36: MH	75.7 (SD = 20.4)	78.3 (SD = 16.3)	.698

Note:—SD indicates standard deviation; VPAS, visual pain analog scale; FAQ, fear avoidance questionnaire; SF, short form; PF, physical functioning; RP, role-physical; BP, bodily pain; GH, general health; VT, vitality; SF, social functioning; RE, role-emotional; MH, mental health.

Table 2:

Comparison of unblinded and blinded patients at 6 weeks

Variable	Unblinded	Blinded	Unadjusted P
Mean Roland score	6.1 (SD = 5.48)	5.1 (SD = 5.50)	.099
No. with 50% Roland score improvement (%)	55 (60.4%)	57 (67.1%)	.397
Mean VPAS for average pain	3.5 (SD = 2.70)	2.96 (SD = 2.71)	.179
No. with 50% VPAS improvement (%)	43 (48.3%)	44 (53.7%)	.529
Mean no. of sick days	0.6 (SD = 2.2)	0.8 (SD = 2.3)	.743
No. with 0 sick days (%)	12 (14.0%)	12 (15.0%)	.677
Mean self-efficacy pain	72.2 (SD = 21.8)	72.5 (SD = 24.1)	.639
Mean self-efficacy other	73.6 (SD = 19.2)	74.8 (SD = 21.3)	.400
Mean FAQ physical activity	13.8 (SD = 6.4)	13.4 (SD = 6.3)	.698
Mean FAQ work	12.1 (SD = 11.3)	10.8 (SD = 10.6)	.457
Mean SF-36: PF	69.0 (SD = 22.3)	76.0 (SD = 24.7)	.010
Mean SF-36: RP	60.5 (SD = 41.3)	70.2 (SD = 39.5)	.112
Mean SF-36: BP	56.5 (SD = 22.7)	65.0 (SD = 24.4)	.041
Mean SF-36: GH	77.6 (SD = 19.4)	80.7 (SD = 15.5)	.360
Mean SF-36: VT	58.3 (SD = 21.4)	63.1 (SD = 20.0)	.157
Mean SF-36: SF	85.3 (SD = 21.7)	86.0 (SD = 20.6)	.886
Mean SF-36: RE	77.5 (SD = 36.7)	84.8 (SD = 29.8)	.246
Mean SF-36: MH	69.4 (SD = 21.0)	78.7 (SD = 20.2)	.001

Note:—SD indicates standard deviation; VPAS, visual pain analog scale; FAQ, fear avoidance questionnaire; SF, short form; PF, physical functioning; RP, role-physical; BP, bodily pain; GH, general health; VT, vitality; SF, social functioning; RE, role-emotional; MH, mental health.

Table 3:

Comparison of unblinded and blinded patients at 1 year

Variable	Unblinded	Blinded	Unadjusted P
Mean Roland score	4.9 (SD = 5.3)	4.2 (SD = 5.3)	.386
Mean VPAS for average pain	2.9 (SD = 2.4)	2.8 (SD = 2.8)	.407
Mean VPAS for worst pain	4.5 (SD = 3.1)	3.9 (SD = 3.3)	.221
Mean no. of sick days	0.27 (SD = 0.85)	0.34 (SD = 3.3)	.493
Mean self-efficacy pain	72.0 (SD = 23.6)	73.9 (SD = 21.8)	.749
Mean self-efficacy other	75.7 (SD = 21.6)	76.9 (SD = 9.9)	.810
Mean FAQ physical activity	13.3 (SD = 7.0)	13.9 (SD = 6.5)	.589
Mean FAQ work	11.2 (SD = 10.5)	11.7 (SD = 9.9)	.770
Mean SF-36: PF	75.0 (SD = 25.4)	75.7 (SD = 24.2)	.903
Mean SF-36: RP	72.5 (SD = 38.3)	73.5 (SD = 40.8)	.607
Mean SF-36: BP	64.1 (SD = 26.5)	64.7 (SD = 26.8)	.888
Mean SF-36: GH	70.2 (SD = 24.7)	75.2 (SD = 18.2)	.461
Mean SF-36: VT	58.9 (SD = 22.1)	62.4 (SD = 21.7)	.362
Mean SF-36: SF	85.9 (SD = 24.9)	86.7 (SD = 22.8)	.980
Mean SF-36: RE	83.1 (SD = 33.1)	87.4 (SD = 28.0)	.665
Mean SF-36: MH	74.3 (SD = 20.2)	81.0 (SD = 16.7)	.032^*

Note:—SD indicates standard deviation; VPAS, visual pain analog scale; FAQ, fear avoidance questionnaire; SF, short form; PF, physical functioning; RP, role-physical; BP, bodily pain; GH, general health; VT, vitality; SF, social functioning; RE, role-emotional; MH, mental health.
* The P value for mental health, after adjusting for the multiple comparisons, was >.05, not statistically significant.