BackgroundRadiating leg pain is common in patients with low back pain (LBP). In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and incidence of LBP with radiating leg pain in Dutch general practice, and to describe the prescribed medications and requested imaging diagnostics.MethodsThe Rijnmond Primary Care Database containing over 500,000 primary care patients was used to select patients ≥18 years with LBP with radiating leg pain between 2013 and 2021. Data on patient characteristics, LBP episodes, prescribed medication and requested imaging in the first 3 months of an episode was extracted. Descriptive statistics were used to present patient characteristics and diagnostic/therapeutic interventions.ResultsA total of 27,695 patients were included. The total number of LBP with radiating leg pain episodes in these patients was 36,268. In 2021, the incidence and prevalence were 19.1 and 25.7 per 1000 patient years, respectively. In 60% of patients, the episode duration was shorter than 1 month. In 62% of the episodes, patients visited the general practitioner (GP) one to two times. In 59% of the episodes, at least one medication was prescribed, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) being the most common one (45%). In approximately 11% of the episodes, additional diagnostic imaging was requested.ConclusionLBP with radiating leg pain is common in Dutch general practice patients. About 2/3rd were prescribed pain medications. Dutch request few to none diagnostic imaging for these patients which is in line with clinical practice guidelines.SignificanceIn this new study, we have gained insights into the incidence and prevalence of LBP with radiating leg pain in Dutch general practice. Both remained fairly stable over the study period of 9 years (2013–2021). Overall, the care burden regarding seeking contact with the GPs and the requested diagnostics seem not to be that high. In 62% of the care episodes, there were one or two consultations with the GP, and in 11% of the episodes a diagnostic imaging was requested. Pain medications frequently prescribed (i.e. 2/3rd of the episodes), with NSAIDs being the most common ones.

中文翻译：

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荷兰全科医学中腰痛伴放射腿痛的患病率、发病率和治疗：Rijnmond 初级保健数据库中的一项基于人群的队列研究

背景辐射性腿部疼痛在腰痛 (LBP) 患者中很常见。在这项研究中，我们的目的是确定荷兰全科医生中 LBP 伴放射腿痛的患病率和发病率，并描述处方药物和所需的影像诊断。方法使用包含超过 500,000 名初级保健患者的 Rijnmond 初级保健数据库来选择患者2013 年至 2021 年间患有腰痛且伴有放射状腿部疼痛的患者≥18 年。提取了患者特征、腰痛发作、处方药物和发作前 3 个月内要求的影像学数据。使用描述性统计数据来呈现患者特征和诊断/治疗干预措施。结果总共纳入了 27,695 名患者。这些患者中伴有放射状腿部疼痛发作的 LBP 总数为 36,268 例。 2021 年，发病率和患病率分别为每 1000 名患者年 19.1 例和 25.7 例。 60% 的患者发作持续时间短于 1 个月。在 62% 的发作中，患者去看全科医生 (GP) 一到两次。在 59% 的发作中，至少开了一种药物，其中非甾体类抗炎药 (NSAID) 是最常见的一种 (45%)。在大约 11% 的发作中，需要进行额外的诊断成像。 结论 腰痛伴放射性腿部疼痛在荷兰全科医生中很常见。大约 2/3 的人服用了止痛药。荷兰人几乎没有要求对这些患者进行诊断成像，这符合临床实践指南。意义在这项新研究中，我们深入了解了荷兰全科实践中 LBP 伴放射腿痛的发生率和患病率。在 9 年的研究期间（2013 年至 2021 年），两者都保持相当稳定。总体而言，寻求与全科医生联系和所需诊断的护理负担似乎并不那么高。在 62% 的护理事件中，需要与全科医生会诊一两次，在 11% 的事件中，需要进行诊断成像。经常开具止痛药（即 2/3 的发作），其中 NSAID 是最常见的。