Acute Back Pain

A 41-year-old female presents to your emergency department with acute back pain.

She is recovering from recent shingles across her upper back.  Her last monthly period was two months ago.

Yesterday evening after binge drinking alcohol with a group of friends, she noticed increased urinary frequency and, on her way to use the toilet she missed her footing, accidentally slipped, and fell. She was able to mobilise afterwards with assistance from her friends.

When discussing this patient’s presentation, you ask about presence of ‘red flag’ features of acute back pain.

Which of the following is considered a “red flag” feature of acute back pain?

You review a 65-year-old female with acute back pain. She was admitted overnight for analgesia to the clinical observation unit and required oral morphine.

On review, the patient has on-going acute back pain which has not been well controlled.  She describes having new urinary incontinence and experiencing bilateral “shooting pains going down both legs.”

For this patient, which of the following would be the gold standard investigation?

You are called to review a 70-year-old male patient presenting with acute back pain, abdominal pain and episodes of feeling light-headed.

His heart rate is 110 beats per minute and blood pressure is 88/48mmHg.

Which bedside investigation could help aid your diagnosis and management of this patient?