title: Standards of practice: quality assurance guidelines for percutaneous treatments of intervertebral discs.
abstract: Percutaneous treatments are used in the therapy of small- to medium-sized hernias of intervertebral discs to reduce the intradiscal pressure in the nucleus and theoretically create space for the herniated fragment to implode inward, thus reducing pain and improving mobility and quality of life. These techniques involve the percutaneous removal of the nucleus pulposus by using a variety of chemical, thermal, or mechanical techniques and consist of removal of all or part of nucleus pulposus to induce more rapid healing of the abnormal lumbar disc. These guidelines are written to be used in quality improvement programs for assessing fluoroscopy- and/or computed tomography-guided percutaneous intervertebral disc ablative techniques.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Radiology Department, Attikon University Hospital, Haidari, Athens, Greece. akelekis@med.uoa.gr
authors.forename: Alexis D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Kelekis
authors.forename: Dimitris K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Filippiadis
authors.forename: Jean-Baptiste
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brountzos
mesh_terms: D017587:Diskectomy, Percutaneous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000601:surgery; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000601:surgery*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome