title: Does pain relief by CT-guided indirect cervical nerve root injection with local anesthetics and steroids predict pain relief after decompression surgery for cervical nerve root compression?
abstract: The relationship of pain relief from a recently presented CT-guided indirect cervical nerve root injection with local anesthetics and steroids to surgical decompression as a treatment for single-level cervical radiculopathy is not clear. This retrospective study aimed to compare the immediate and 6-week post-injection effects to the short- and long-term outcomes after surgical decompression, specifically in regard to pain relief.
  
  
  
  Patients (n = 39, age 47 ± 10 years) who had undergone CT-guided indirect injection with local anesthetics and steroids as an initial treatment for single cervical nerve root radiculopathy and who subsequently needed surgical decompression were included retrospectively. Pain levels (VAS scores) were monitored before, immediately after, and 6 weeks after injection (n = 34), as well as 6 weeks (n = 38) and a mean of 25 months (SD ± 12) after surgical decompression (n = 36). Correlation analysis was performed to find potential associations of pain relief after injection and after surgery to investigate the predictive value of post-injection pain relief.
  
  
  
  There was no correlation between immediate pain relief after injection (-32 ± 27 %) and 6 weeks later (-7 ± 19 %), (r = -0.023, p = 0.900). There was an association by tendency between immediate pain relief after injection and post-surgical pain relief at 6 weeks (-82 ± 27 %), (r = 0.28, p = 0.08). Pain relief at follow-up remained high at -70 ± 21 % and was correlated with the immediate pain amelioration effect of the injection (r = 0.37, p = 0.032). Five out of seven patients who reported no pain relief from injection had a pain relief from surgery in excess of 50 %.
  
  
  
  The amount of immediate radiculopathic pain relief after indirect cervical nerve root injection is associated with the amount of pain relief achieved at long-term follow-up after surgical decompression of single-level cervical radiculopathy. Patients can still expect sufficient pain relief from surgery even if they did not respond to the cervical infiltration.
authors: University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Forchstrasse 340, 8008, Zürich, Switzerland. drantoniadis@outlook.com.
authors: Alexander
authors: 0000-0003-1719-2734
authors: A
authors: Antoniadis
authors: University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Forchstrasse 340, 8008, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Tobias J
authors: TJ
authors: Dietrich
authors: University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Forchstrasse 340, 8008, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Mazda
authors: M
authors: Farshad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D013256:Steroids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D013256:Steroids
keywords: Cervical disc herniation; Cervical nerve root injection; Pain relief