Red flags to screen for malignancy and fracture in patients with low back pain: systematic review

The authors of this Research paper (BMJ 2013;347:f7095, doi:10.1136/bmj.f7095) have alerted us to a missing comma in the discussion section, which could lead to confusion. In the second paragraph there is a comma missing in the second sentence after “the combined red flags.” The argument as published implies that prolonged steroid use is a combined red flag, which is incorrect as they are separate items. The sentence should have read: “While older age, steroid use, and severe trauma are endorsed by the guideline to screen for fracture, the combined red flags, prolonged steroid use, and contusion or abrasion are absent.” Also, table D in the data supplement should have referenced the study by “Henschke, 2009” as citation 7 (not 6, as was published).