• Jung Hwan Lee and Sang-Ho Lee.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
• Pain Med. 2013 Oct 1;14(10):1497-504.

ObjectivePatients with lumbosacral spinal stenosis (LSS) do not always obtain satisfactory pain relief from transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) because perineural/epidural adhesions prevent the spread of injectate into the epidural space. Percutaneous adhesiolysis (PA) can eliminate the deleterious effects of adhesion. This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PA among patients with LSS refractory to TFESI and to ascertain the prognostic factors determining PA efficacy.DesignRetrospective study.SettingSpine hospital.SubjectsSixty-five patients with LSS refractory to TFESI who underwent PA with NaviCath® were reviewed.MethodsWe recorded Numeric Rating Scale for back pain (NRS back) and leg pain (NRS leg), and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), at pretreatment, 2 weeks, and 3 months after treatment. Successful pain relief and functional improvement were described as a 50% and 40% or more reduction in NRS and ODI, respectively. Clinical data and radiological findings were obtained to assess the possible predictive factors for PA efficacy.ResultsAmong the 65 patients, 45 (69.2%), 40 (61.5%), and 39 (60.0%) patients showed successful outcomes in NRS back, NRS leg, and ODI at 2 weeks, respectively. Among 63 patients who were followed up at 3 months, 34 (54.0%), 32 (50.8%), and 30 (47.6%) patients showed successful results, respectively. Spondylolisthesis, previous lumbar surgery, and foraminal stenosis were associated with a significantly higher proportion of unsuccessful result in NRS and ODI (%).ConclusionPA may be a useful treatment in patients with LSS refractory to TFESI and reduce the surgical requirement. Previous surgery, spondylolisthesis, and foraminal stenosis may be associated with poor prognosis.Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

17 keywords...

hide…