Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Feb 13;50(1):126-131.
doi: 10.3906/sag-1908-167.

Predictive factors for treatment success of transforaminal epidural steroid injection in lumbar disc herniation-induced sciatica

Savaş Şencan  1 , Alp Eren Çelenlioğlu  2 , Ruslan Asadov  3 , Osman Hakan Gündüz  1
Affiliations

Predictive factors for treatment success of transforaminal epidural steroid injection in lumbar disc herniation-induced sciatica

Savaş Şencan et al. Turk J Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to identify predictive factors for treatment success in transforaminal epidural steroid injection in patients with lumbar disc herniation-induced sciatica.

Materials and methods: A total of 219 patients who were diagnosed with unilateral sciatica and underwent transforaminal epidural steroid injections at the level of L4-5, L5-S1, or S1 neural foramina between March 2016 and May 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The presence of transitional vertebrae and the grade of nerve root compression were evaluated by a radiologist. Data including age, sex, body mass index, duration of symptoms, injection levels, and pain scores were recorded. Pain scores were evaluated using the numerical rating scale. Treatment success was defined as a ≥50% decrease in pain scores at 3 months.

Results: The study included 118 female and 101 male patients with a mean age of 43.65 ± 12.18 years. The mean duration of symptoms was 25.64 ± 2.17 weeks. Although the duration of symptoms was longer in patients for whom treatment failed, it did not reach statistical significance. Decreased pain scores at 1 h had a significant effect on treatment success (p = 0.012, odds ratio (OR): 1.015, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.003–1.026).

Conclusions: Our study results suggest that a decreased pain score at 1 h is a predictor for a favorable three-month response to transforaminal epidural steroid injection in patients with lumbar disc herniation-induced sciatica.

Keywords: Epidural injection; back pain with radiation; herniated disc; low back pain; magnetic resonance imaging; sciatica.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

References

    1. Konstantinou K Dunn KM Sciatica: review of epidemiological studies and prevalence estimates. Spine. 2008;33:2464. - PubMed
    1. Mulleman D Mammou S Griffoul I Watier H Goupille P Pathophysiology of disk-related sciatica. Spine: Revue du Rhumatisme. 2006;73:151. - PubMed
    1. Kennedy DJ Plastaras C Casey E Visco CJ Rittenberg JD Comparative effectiveness of lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections with particulate versus nonparticulate corticosteroids for lumbar radicular pain due to intervertebral disc herniation: a prospective, randomized, double-blind trial. Pain Medicine (Malden. 2014;15:548. - PubMed
    1. Bhatia A Flamer D Shah PS Transforaminal epidural steroid injections for treating lumbosacral radicular pain from herniated intervertebral discs: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Anesthesia and Analgesia. 2016;122:857. - PubMed
    1. Abram SE Epidural steroid injections for the treatment of lumbosacral radiculopathy. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation. 1997;8:135. - PubMed

Substances