Ultrasound-guided selective nerve root block versus fluoroscopy-guided interlaminar epidural block for the treatment of radicular pain in the lower cervical spine: a retrospective comparative study.

Purpose: Recent studies have compared the therapeutic efficacy and safety of the procedure using ultrasound and fluoroscopy. However, there are no published studies comparing the therapeutic efficacy and safety of fluoroscopy (FL)-guided cervical interlaminar epidural steroid injection (CIESI) with that of ultrasound (US)-guided selective nerve root block (SNRB). This study aimed to compare the mid-term effects and advantages of US-guided SNRB with FL-guided CIESI for radicular pain in the lower cervical spine through assessment of pain relief and functional improvement.

Methods: Patients with radicular pain in the lower cervical spine who received US-guided SNRB (n = 51) or FL-guided CIESI (n = 61) were included in this retrospective study. All procedures were performed using FL or US. The complication frequencies during the procedures, adverse events, treatment effects, and functional improvement were compared at intervals of 1, 3, and 6 months after the last injection.

Results: Both the neck disability index and verbal numeric scale showed improvements at 1, 3, and 6 months after the last injection in both groups, with no significant differences between groups (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the treatment success rate at all time points was not significantly different between groups. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the injection method (US- or FL-guided), sex, analgesic use, pain duration, number of injections, and age were not independent predictors of treatment success. Blood was aspirated before injection in 8% (n = 5) and 0% of patients in the FL-guided and US-guided groups, respectively. In seven patients of the FL-guided group, intravascular contrast spread was noted during injection.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that, compared with FL-guided CIESI, US-guided SNRB requires a shorter administration duration while providing similar pain relief and functional improvements.