Children and adolescents seen at a medical unit – A retrospective review of patient records from the Spine Center of Southern Denmark

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ABSTRACT Background Spinal pain in children and adolescents is common and limits their daily In the Region of Southern Denmark, the Spine Center of Southern Denmark provides care for patients with spinal pain who have not improved through primary care. Limited information exists about children and adolescents seen in medical hospital settings. Method A retrospective review of clinical encounters with patients under the age of 18 from January 2018 to December 2021. Data were collected on demographic factors, clinical characteristics, functional impairments, and diagnostic codes (International Classification of Disease (ICD-10)). Results Patients ranged from age 9 to 17, and 60% were female. Most were in primary school, and physically active. The primary complaint was persistent ongoing lumbar pain without nerve root affection and of non-traumatic origin. Mostly used ICD-10 codes were categorized as non-specific spinal pain. However, one-fourth had specific diagnoses, includingdisk herniation, spondylolysis and -listhese, specific spinal-related and non-spinal complaints. Advanced imaging was common, both before referral or at the initial assessment. Approximately 20% were referred to other hospital departments, mostly pediatric departments. Functional impairment varied widely. Conclusion Children and adolescents with spinal pain seen at an outpatient spine center predominantly received non-specific pain diagnoses. However, approximately 20% did have a specific cause for their pain. Patients demonstrated high variability in how much their pain affected them; a large proportion had received imaging either before the initial assessment or with a referral from the spine center.