[Lumbago cases seen at a health center]

The main aim is to describe the cases of mechanical lumbalgia in relation to clinical and demographic variables, in the period between February and June 1989. The collateral purpose is to analyse the relationship between analgesic/NAI treatment as regards the time needed to resolve the problem.

This is an observational prospective study. The cases included under the second aim are distributed at random. SITE. The study was carried out in the Primary Care Centre of Deltebre, a rural town of 10,000 inhabitants.

The consultations for rheumatoid lumbar pain were 355. Of these, 183 were first visits, which were the object of the descriptive study. Out of these, 125 were lumbalgias of the posterior branch and are the target population of the analytical study.

Paracetamol (on its own or with codeine) taken orally was used as an analgesic. Piroxicam, Indometazine, Ketoprofen or Diclofenac taken orally, rectally or intramuscularly was used as an anti-inflammatory. MAIN RESULTS AND MEASUREMENTS: In cases between the ages of 40 and 49 in the case of men, and of 40 and 59 in the case of women, an increase in relation to the municipal census was observed, with p < 0.01 and 0.001. There was no difference in the time of resolution between the cases treated with analgesics and those treated with NSAI.

Future studies will have to analyse the increase in lumbalgias in the 40 to 59 age-group. The number of cases off-work signifies a health cost. Drug treatment plays no part in the resolution, which agrees with a previous reference.