title: Chemonucleolysis with chymopapain: results in 150 patients.
abstract: Chemonucleolysis with chymopapain has been advocated for the treatment of lumbar disc disease. When polled by a mail questionnaire, 150 consecutive patients who had undergone chemonucleolysis reported an overall success rate of only 40% and a failure rate of 60%. However, 57% of the patients were active or had only mild restriction of daily activities. Of those patients employed prior to injection, only 63% had returned to work. Those with workmen's compensation benefits fared considerably worse than those covered by third-party insurance (17% vs. 51% success). These results cast doubt on the long-term benefits of chymopapain in the treatment of lumbar disc disease.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002917:Chymopapain / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007404:Intervertebral Disc Chemolysis / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059408:Pain Management; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D002917:Chymopapain