[Low back pain and abdominal aortic aneurysm: Red flags]

Abstract

Approximately 70% of adults will experience low back pain at some point in their life. Most of the cases cannot be identified a cause, being nonspecific pains. The clinical guidelines on the management of low back pain indicate suspecting the presence of serious processes by means of the so-called red flags. Abdominal aortic aneurysm in 91% of cases is accompanied by low back pain, hence its importance of including it as a differential diagnosis. We present the case of a 75-year-old man with low back pain, without improvement with conservative treatment, referred to a rehabilitation consultation 3months after the onset of symptoms, and in the event of warning signs, imaging studies are requested that show abdominal aortic aneurysm and mass right kidney. We must bear in mind the red flags in patients with low back pain, and thus avoid outcomes that can put their lives at risk.

Keywords: Abdominal aneurysm; Aneurisma abdominal; Banderas rojas; Low back pain; Lumbalgia; Red flags; Rehabilitación; Rehabilitation.