• Duygu Tecer, Emre Adiguzel, Arif Kenan Tan, and Mehmet Ali Taskaynatan.
• Division of Rheumatology, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
• Pain Med. 2017 Apr 1; 18 (4): 645-650.

ObjectiveTo explore the outcome differences of lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) according to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients with lumbar radicular pain.DesignRetrospective study.SettingSingle university-based interventional pain management unit.PatientsFifty-nine patients who had lumbar radicular pain with a recent lumbar MRI and three-month follow-up were included.MethodsMRI findings were reviewed for the following items: herniation type (bulging, protrusion, extrusion), herniation location (central, subarticular, foraminal, extraforaminal), high intensity zone (HIZ), and nerve root impingement (NRI). Pain severity was evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) at time of before injection, then two weeks and three months after.ResultsPain scores improved significantly in each group ( P  < 0.05) at all time points, but there were no statistically significant differences in improvements according to type or location of disc herniation. Pain scores were significantly lower in patients with HIZ at the second week and in patients with NRI at the third month ( P  < 0.05).ConclusionsTFESI was an effective treatment method in patients with radicular pain, irrespective of the type or location of disc herniation. However, greater improvement in pain may be expected at the second week in patients with HIZ and at the third month in patients with NRI.© 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

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