On contrast dispersal patterns as a predictor of clinical outcome with transforaminal epidural steroid injection for lumbar radiculopathy

摘要

Paidin et al [1] have identified 2 important clinical questions regarding transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TF-ESI) in the management of radicular pain: (1) do TF-ESI contrast patterns correlate with clinical outcomes, and (2) does the degree of neural compression predict the anticipated contrast pattern and associated clinical outcome. If so, this information could greatly contribute to improving clinical course and associated quality of life for our patients. We could potentially extrapolate from these data support for the theory that repositioning our needle tip to achieve an improved contrast pattern can result in improved clinical patient outcomes.