• Liangliang He, Wenxing Zhao, Li Yue, Liang Rich, Jianning Yue, Jiaxiang Ni, and Liqiang Yang.
• Department of Pain Management, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2021 Jul 1; 151: e927-e934.

ObjectiveCervical chest pain (CCP), as 1 atypical symptom associated with cervical spondylosis, often overlaps with other chest-related diseases. CCP obviously relieved after ultrasound-guided cervical nerve root block near a herniated disc should be considered as a potential pathologic source. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether coblation discoplasty can alleviate CCP after positive ultrasound-guided nerve root block.MethodsFrom August 2016 to September 2019, 21 patients with high suspicion of CCP experienced over 50% pain relieve after ultrasound-guided diagnostic nerve root block. Through 12 months of follow-up, the primary efficacy was assessed with visual analogue scale (VAS) of CCP, and secondary outcomes included: neck pain VAS, neck disability index (NDI), the proportion of significant CCP relief, the rating of CCP alleviation, the patient satisfaction index (PSI), and analgesic consumption. Adverse events were recorded to evaluate safety.ResultsFollowing postoperative 12 months, a time-course analysis confirmed a robust decline in VAS of CCP (P < 0.0001), and a similar recovery trend was shown in VAS of neck pain and NDI (P < 0.0001). After treatment, the number of patients taking analgesics decreased (P < 0.0001), and around 60% of patients reported notable relief and satisfaction with treatment. No serious complications were observed.ConclusionsAfter positive ultrasound-guided nerve root block, coblation discoplasty can provide up to 12 months of relief for intractable CCP.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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