title: Diagnostic discography: what is the clinical utility?
abstract: The diagnosis and treatment of discogenic back pain is challenging. Provocation discography, an invasive spinal procedure, has been suggested as a diagnostic test for internal disc disruption to provide information on disc morphology and reproduction of symptoms. Current applications consist of the evaluation of persistent spinal pain in individuals, including postoperative patients, as well as providing a guide for patient selection for spinal fusion surgery and minimally invasive interventional pain procedures. While the validity of discography has been questioned by multiple scientific studies, technical refinements have addressed many of the initial limitations. An updated review on the safety and utility of discography will be provided, covering key areas of debate including false-positive rates, technical parameters, clinical utility, and risk of discography procedural-related intervertebral disc damage.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Pain Diagnostics and Care, Ohio Valley General Hospital, 500 Pine Hollow Road, McKees Rocks, PA 15136, USA. davidprovenzano@hotmail.com
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Provenzano
mesh_terms: D001175:Arthrography / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity