Short-term evaluation of periradicular corticosteroid injections in the treatment of lumbar radiculopathy associated with disc disease.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of periradicular corticosteroid injections performed under fluoroscopic guidance in the treatment of pain originating in the lumbosacral nerve roots.

METHOD

Forty patients presenting with lumbosciatica or femoral neuralgia unresponsive to conventional conservative treatment were admitted to the study. Patients with nerve root pain due to infectious, tumorous or inflammatory diseases were excluded, as were patients who needed immediate surgery. Pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale on the day of the injection and ten (D10) and ninety (D90) days later.

RESULTS

All patients were evaluated as scheduled on D10 and D90. The mean visual analog scale score decreased from 53.3 mm at baseline to 30.1 mm on D10 and to 21.8 mm on D90. Ninety per cent of patients had a visual analog pain score decrease on D10 and 85% on D90. Reported side effects were two cases of mild spontaneously regressive acne and one case of radicular pain exacerbation of less than one day's duration.

CONCLUSION

Periradicular injections of corticosteroids done under fluoroscopic guidance as an outpatient procedure was effective and safe in our study and may deserve to be used as part of the conservative management of lumbar nerve root pain before resorting to more invasive methods.