American Pain Society's 27th Annual Scientific Meeting (May 8 – 10, 2008): Evidence-based Medicine for Evaluation and Management of Low Back Pain: Update on Guidelines from the American Pain Society

Low back pain remains an everyday challenge. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines could help reduce unexplained practice variations, use of unnecessary diagnostic tests, and use of unproven therapies, and lead to improved outcomes in patients with low back pain. The American Pain Society, in collaboration with the American College of Physicians, published guidelines for evaluation and management of low back pain in primary care in October 2007. Guidelines for use of interventional procedures and surgery are currently being developed and planned for completion in spring 2008. Lead members of the APS Low Back Pain Guideline Panel who have been involved in developing the guidelines will present: 1. The process for developing evidence-based guidelines. 2. Recommendations for initial evaluation of low back pain. 3. Recommendations for initial treatment of low back pain. 4. Challenges in developing guidelines for use of interventional procedures and surgery. 5. Recommendations for use of interventional procedures and surgery. By the time APS convenes for its 2008 conference, we anticipate that recommendations for use of interventional procedures and surgery will be complete or near complete and we will be able to inform APS conference attendees of the state of the science for different interventional procedures and surgery and key recommendations for clinical practice.