Objectives: The aim of this observational study was to evaluate the 12-month follow-up of interlaminar cervical epidural steroid injections (ICESI) without a local anesthesic agent on pain and functionality in chronic cervical radicular pain. Design: Patients who underwent C7-T1 ICESI between June 2024 and June 2025 were included in the study. Assessments of the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Neck Disability Index (NDI) were scheduled to include pre-procedural and post-procedural follow-ups. The frequency of opioid use was documented at all specified follow-up intervals. The primary outcome measure was ≥50% improvement in pain scores Results: A total of 40 patients were included in the study. Significant improvement in NRS and NDI values was observed in all follow-ups after the procedure ( P <0.001). The frequency of opioid intake significantly decreased over time. After 1 year of follow-up, 15 (37.5%) patients showed ≥50% improvement in both NRS and NDI. No complications were detected in the patients during the procedure or during the follow-up. Conclusions: ICESI has positive effects not only on neck and radicular pain but also on functional status and opioid intake. Besides its significant efficacy, no complications were observed as no particulate steroids or local anesthetics were used.
Er et al. (Tue,) studied this question.