1. Comparative-effectiveness study evaluating outcomes for transforaminal epidural steroid injections performed with 3% hypertonic saline or normal saline in lumbosacral radicular pain.
- Author
-
Munjupong S, Malaithong W, Chantrapannik E, Ratchano P, Tontisirin N, and Cohen SP
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Male, Injections, Epidural, Middle Aged, Saline Solution, Hypertonic administration & dosage, Saline Solution, Hypertonic therapeutic use, Retrospective Studies, Treatment Outcome, Adult, Aged, Low Back Pain drug therapy, Lumbosacral Region, Saline Solution administration & dosage, Saline Solution therapeutic use, Pain Measurement, Triamcinolone administration & dosage, Triamcinolone therapeutic use, Lidocaine administration & dosage, Lidocaine therapeutic use, Radiculopathy drug therapy
- Abstract
Background: Transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESI) are commonly employed to treat lumbosacral radiculopathy. Despite anti-inflammatory properties, the addition of 3% hypertonic saline has not been studied., Objective: Compare the effectiveness of adding 0.9% NaCl (N-group) vs. 3% NaCl (H-group) in TFESI performed for lumbosacral radiculopathy., Methods: This retrospective study compared TFESI performed with lidocaine, triamcinolone and 0.9% NaCl vs. lidocaine, triamcinolone and 3% NaCl. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who experienced a ≥ 30% reduction in pain on a verbal rating scale (VRS; 0-100) at 3 months. Secondary outcome measures included the proportion of patients who improved by at least 30% for pain at 1 and 6 months, and who experienced ≥15% from baseline on the Oswestry disability index (ODI) at follow-up., Results: The H-group experienced more successful pain outcomes than the N-group at 3 months (59.09% vs. 41.51%; P = .002) but not at 1 month (67.53% vs. 64.78%; P = .61) or 6 months (27.13% vs 21.55%: P = .31). For functional outcome, there was a higher proportion of responders in the H-group than the N-group at 3 months (70.31% vs. 53.46%; P = .002). Female, age ≤ 60 years, and duration of pain ≤ 6 months were associated with superior outcomes at the 3-month endpoint. Although those with a herniated disc experienced better outcomes in general with TFESI, the only difference favoring the H-group was for spondylolisthesis patients., Conclusions: 3% hypertonic saline is a viable alternative to normal saline as an adjunct for TFESI, with randomized studies needed to compare its effectiveness to steroids as a possible alternative., Registration: Thai Clinical Trials Registry ID TCTR 20231110006., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF