Table 1 Red Flags [17]
HISTORY | PHYSICAL EXAMINATION |
|---|---|
Cancer | Saddle anesthesia |
Unexplained weight loss | Loss of anal sphincter tone |
Immunosuppression | Major motor weakness in lower extremities |
Prolonged use of steroids | Fever |
Intravenous drug use | Vertebral tenderness |
Urinary tract infection | Limited spinal range of motion |
Pain that is increased or unrelieved by rest | Neurologic findings persisting beyond one month |
Fever | |
Significant trauma related to age (e.g., fall from a height or motor vehicle accident in a young patient, minor fall or heavy lifting in a potentially osteoporotic or older patient or a person with possible osteoporosis) | |
Bladder or bowel incontinence | |
Urinary retention (with overflow incontinence) |