Ultrasound-Guided Lumbar Spine Injection for Axial and Radicular Pain: A Single Institution Early Experience

STUDY DESIGN: Clinical audit via retrospective review of a database. PURPOSE: To report an early experience using ultrasound-guided lumbar spinal injection for axial and radicular pain in an Asian multiethnic cohort. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Ultrasound-guided spine injection therapy is a comparatively new technique in the management of axial and radicular pain from degenerative lumbar spinal conditions, which may be a reasonable alternative to conventional fluoroscopic or computed tomography-guided injection. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted, involving all patients who underwent ultrasound-guided lumbar spine injection therapy at a single institution over 1 year. Patients were evaluated by two interventionists, who then performed standardized ultrasound-guided lumbar facet joint and pararadicular spinal injections. RESULTS: There were 42 patients treated at our Sports Medicine Centre; with 27 patients (64.3%) receiving facet joint injections and 18 patients (42.9%) receiving nerve root injections. The majority (90.5%) of patients experienced an improvement of >30% in pain intensity at 3 months post-injection, using the Numerical Rating Scale pain score (p<0.001); with 40 patients (95.2%) reporting a reduction in Oswestry Disability Index score (p<0.001). No complications were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Our initial experience confirms the safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of ultrasound-guided lumbar spinal injection for the treatment of axial and radicular pain in an Asian multiethnic cohort.