title: [A prospective double blind study of cervical nerve infiltration with isotonic saline and local anaesthetic].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aim of this investigation was the examination of the therapeutic effect of cervical nerve infiltration with mepivacaine in comparison to local applications of isotonic sodium chlorid solution in a prospective randomised double blind study.
  
  
  METHODS
  57 patients with cervicocephalgia or cervicobrachialgia were injected daily with mepivacaine ( n=28) or physiological sodium chlorid solution ( n=29). The success was judged through the blinded patients and blinded therapists first after three days of treatment. If no improvement occurred a single injection of mepivacaine and triamcinolonacetonid was given. This injection could be repeated if required. At the end of the inpatient treatment, after a mean of 14 days, the patients assessed the treatment according to a scale of 1-4 (painfree - no improvement).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average therapeutic effect, in the subjective appraisal of 1-4 by the patients, was 2.15 in the mepivacaine-group and 2.54 in the sodium chlorid - group. In the mepivacaine-group no pain (note 1) was achieved two times and 21 times a clear improvement (note 2), while in the sodium chlorid - group 18 times a clear improvement was achieved and never freedom of pain ( p<0,038). In the mepivacaine-group twice a steroidinjection was required, while in the sodium chlorid - group this was necessary in 16 cases ( p<0,01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cervical injections with mepivacaine improve the subjective pain perception in cervicocephalgia and cervicobrachialgia significantly better than isotonic sodium chlorid - solution in short term results and can therefore be prefered. After an inpatient treatment good and excellent subjective results could be achieved in a high percentage.
authors.affiliation: St. Josef Hospital, Orthopädische Universitätsklinik Bochum. frank.rubenthaler@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rubenthaler
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boluki
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Wittenberg