Citation

Marmor S, Karaca-Mandic P, Adams ME. JAMA Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jamaoto.2023.4693

PMID

38358769

Abstract

In Reply We thank Wu and colleagues for their insightful comments about our study1 that assessed the use of physical therapy (PT) and subsequent falls among patients with dizziness in the US using a large administrative claims dataset. Our primary objective was to examine the association between receipt of any PT service and falls requiring medical care within 12 months of presentation for dizziness, and secondarily to identify factors associated with receipt of PT and falls. In their Letter, Wu and colleagues emphasize the potential influence of several unmeasured variables on the observed association. We concur with the authors regarding the potential significance of the patient-specific factors they mention, including frailty, general balance, and mobility, as well as the capacity and willingness to adhere to the recommended PT regimen during and after therapy sessions at home as important covariates.2 At the same time, we acknowledge constraints in assessing these variables in our analyses due to their unavailability in the administrative dataset we used. We agree with the authors on the necessity for further research to elucidate how these variables may affect PT use and the effects of PT for patients experiencing dizziness.

Language: en