• David J Kennedy, Ryan Fraiser, Patricia Zheng, Lisa Huynh, Joshua Levin, Matthew Smuck, and Byron J Schneider.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
• Pain Med. 2019 Feb 1; 20 (2): 246-251.

ObjectiveTo determine if intra-articular (IA) injection of corticosteroids is effective in reducing the need for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in those with dual comparative medial branch block (MBB)-confirmed lumbar z-joint pain.DesignThis was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study.SettingTwo academic medical centers.SubjectsFifty-six consecutive subjects who had ≥80% pain relief during an initial screening MBB were recruited.MethodsPatients received a second confirmatory MBB and concurrent IA injection of either corticosteroid or saline per randomization. Twenty-nine of 56 received intra-articular corticosteroid (triamcinolone 20 mg), of whom 24 also had a positive confirmatory MBB per Spine Interventional Society guidelines, with ≥80% pain relief from both MBBs. Twenty-seven of 56 received IA saline into the z-joint during the confirmatory MBB, of whom 22 also had a positive confirmatory MBB. The primary outcome measure was the categorical need for RFA due to insufficient pain relief with intra-articular injection, and the secondary outcome was time to RFA.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in the need for an RFA between the groups (16/24 steroid, 67%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 47-82%) vs 15/22 saline (68%, 95% CI = 47-84%, P = 1.00). The average time to RFA was also not different, at 6.00 weeks for steroids vs 6.55 weeks for saline (P = 0.82).ConclusionsIntra-articular corticosteroids were not effective in reducing the need for or the time to a radiofrequency ablation of the medial branches in those with dual MBB-confirmed lumbar z-joint pain.© 2018 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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