Correlating SPECT-CT activity in cervical facet joints with positive response to cervical medial branch blocks

Cervical facet arthritis is a significant source of neck pain and impaired function that is amenable to treatment with medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy (RFN). Identifying appropriate patients for this treatment requires integration of information from the history, physical exam and diagnostic imaging, but the current diagnostic standard for facet-mediated pain is positive comparative medial branch blockade (MBB). SPECT-CT has recently been evaluated as a potential predictor of positive medial branch blocks with mixed results. The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to determine if a relationship exists between increased uptake on SPECT-CT of a given cervical facet joint and a positive MBB.