• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2005

Background: An epidural steroid injection (ESI) is usually used for the treatment of low back pain with radiculopathy. An ESI can be performed by two procedures: I) a lumbar or caudal epidural steroid injection and II) a transforaminal epidural steroid injection. Methods: Ninety-three patients, who had undergone transforaminal epidural steroid injection (Group II), and either a lumbar or caudal epidural steroid injection (Group I), were retrospectively studied. The authors assessed the pain, walking, standing improvement and side effects after each procedure, which were evaluated as being very good, good, fair or poor. Data were collected from the patients medical records and analyzed using the chi-squared test. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the pain, walking, standing improvement and side effects between the two groups. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the pain improvement following transforaminal epidural steroid injection in those not effectively responding to an initial lumbar or caudal epidural block in Group II. Conclusions: A transforaminal epidural steroid injection is a useful alternative to a lumbar or caudal epidural steroid injection for low back pain with radiculopathy.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.216-220
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• 2011

Background: Transforaminal epidural steroid injection is one of the effective treatments in managing radicular pain. There have been some prospective studies on the depth to the epidural space with the transforaminal approach. However, there have been no studies about the depth in Asians, especially Koreans. This study was carried out in order to evaluate the depth to the epidural space and the oblique angle and factors that influence the depth to the epidural space during lumbar transforaminal epidural injection. Methods: A total of 248 patients undergoing fluoroscopically guided transforaminal epidural steroid injections were evaluated. At the L3-4, L4-5, L5-S1, and S1 levels, we measured the oblique angle and depth to the epidural space. Results: Needle depth was positively associated with body mass index (correlation coefficient 0.52, P = 0.004). The median depths (in centimeters) to the epidural space were 6.13 cm, 6.42 cm, and 7.13 cm for 50-60 kg, 60-70 kg, and 70-80 kg groups, respectively, at L5-S1. Age and height were not significantly associated with the needle depth. Conclusions: There is a positive association between the BMI (and weight) and transforaminal epidural depth but not with age, sex, and height.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.483-486
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• 2015

Cervical epidural steroid injection is frequently used in the conservative management of neck pain and cervical radiculopathy. Epidural cervical transforaminal injections are usually well-tolerated with mild side effects such as transient decreased sensory and motor function, or headache due to dural puncture. Although there are a few case reports about adverse effects of cervical epidural injection in the literature, it can cause severe complications such as large hematoma, infarction by spinal vascular injury. Subdural hematoma has been occurred much less common rather than epidural hematoma in the spinal cord. We report a rare catastrophic case of cervical spinal subdural hematoma with quadriparesis after cervical transforaminal epidural block.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.176-180
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• 2005

Background: Epidural steroid injections benefit certain patients with radicular pain, and often have only a limited duration. We compared the efficacy of hyaluronidase and triamcinolone and triamcinolone alone in patients with lumbar herniated disc disease treated with transforaminal epidural block. Methods: Forty patients who had undergone a transforaminal epidural injection were retrospectively reviewed. The T group received triamcinolone and local anesthetics; whereas, the HT group received hyaluronidase, triamcinolone and local anesthetics. We evaluated the improvement as being good, moderate, mild or no improvement, and in those where the improvement was good or moderate, also evaluated the duration of pain relief. Data were collected from the medical records of patients or via phone calls, which were analyzed using Student t- and chi-squared tests. A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were no significant differences in the degree of pain improvement or duration of pain relief between the two groups. Conclusions: A hyaluronidase and triamcinolone injection during transforaminal epidural block has on benefit with respect to the degree of pain improvement or its duration compared to a triamcinolone only injection.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.175-180
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• 2006

Background: A transforaminal epidural steroid injection has been used for the treatment of radicular arm or leg pain, which has the advantage of ventral epidural spreading compared to either an interlaminar or caudal approach. However, several factors are known to affect the epidural spread pattern of contrast dye; therefore, the injected medication can not be delivered to the target site. The objective of our study was to observe any differences in the contrast flow patterns according to several factors. Methods: A total of 34 epidurographies in 29 patients, who underwent fluoroscopically guided transforaminal epidural steroid injections, were evaluated. After confirming the location of the needle tip within the anterior superior aspect of the neural foramen in the lateral view, and at the 6 o'clock position to the pedicle in the anteroposterior view, 2 ml of contrast dye was injected. The contrast flow patterns of ventral, ventral and dorsal, and dorsal epidural filling were analyzed, according to age, gender, magnetic resonance imaging finding and history of previous back surgery. Results: Ventral contrast flow occurred in 30 out of the 34 epidurographies (88%). Both ventral and dorsal contrast flow patterns were observed 13 out of 16 (81%) patients in the older age group. Also, both ventral and dorsal contrast flow patterns were observed in 16 out of 18 (88%) patients with spinal stenosis. Conclusions: Transforaminal epidural steroid injections, performed uner fluoroscopy, provide excellent nerve root filling and ventral epidural spreading. Patients with spinal stenosis or an old age have both ventral and dorsal epidural spreading patterns.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.265-269
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• 2013

Background: Transforaminal epidural steroid injections are known to reduce inflammation by inhibiting synthesis of various proinflammatory mediators and have been used increasingly. The anti-inflammatory properties of opioids are not as fully understood but apparently involve antagonism sensory neuron excitability and pro-inflammatory neuropeptide release. To date, no studies have addressed the efficacy of transforaminal epidural morphine in patients with radicular pain, and none have directly compared morphine with a tramadol for this indication. The aim of this study was to compare morphine and tramadol analgesia when administered via epidural injection to patients with lumbar radicular pain. Methods: A total of 59 patients were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 treatment groups and followed for 3 months after procedure. Each patient was subjected to C-arm guided transforaminal epidural injection (TFEI) of an affected nerve root. As assigned, patients received either morphine sulfate (2.5 mg/2.5 ml) or tramadol (25 mg/0.5 ml) in combination with 0.2% ropivacaine (1 ml). Using numeric rating scale was subsequently rates at 2 weeks and 3 months following injection for comparison with baseline. Results: Both groups had significantly lower mean pain scores at 2 weeks and at 3 months after treatment, but outcomes did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusions: TFEI of an opioid plus local anesthetic proved effective in treating radicular pain. Although morphine surpassed tramadol in pain relief scores, the difference was not statistically significant.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2010

Background: Complications following lumbar transforaminal epidural injection are frequently related to inadvertent vascular injection of corticosteroids. Several methods have been proposed to reduce the risk of vascular injection. The generally accepted technique during epidural steroid injection is intermittent fluoroscopy. In fact, this technique may miss vascular uptake due to rapid washout. Because of the fleeting appearance of vascular contrast patterns, live fluoroscopy is recommended during contrast injection. However, when vascular contrast patterns are overlapped by expected epidural patterns, it is hard to distinguish them even on live fluoroscopy. Methods: During 87 lumbar transforaminal epidural injections, dynamic contrast flows were observed under live fluoroscopy with using digital subtraction enhancement. Two dynamic fluoroscopy fluoroscopic images were saved from each injection. These injections were performed by five physicians with experience independently. Accuracy of live fluoroscopy was determined by comparing the interpretation of the digital subtraction fluoroscopic images. Results: Using digital subtraction guidance with contrast confirmation, the twenty cases of intravascular injection were found (the rate of incidence was 23%). There was no significant difference in incidence of intravascular injections based either on gender or diagnosis. Only five cases of intravascular injections were predicted with either flash or aspiration of blood (sensitivity = 25%). Under live fluoroscopic guidance with contrast confirmation to predict intravascular injection, twelve cases were predicted (sensitivity = 60%). Conclusions: This finding demonstrate that digital subtraction fluoroscopic imaging is superior to blood aspiration or live fluoroscopy in detecting intravascular injections with lumbar transforaminal epidural injection.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2007

Background: Epidural steroid injections (ESI) are a common treatment for spinal disorders. Previous research has shown that aspiration of the syringe is not a sensitive test for placement of an intravascular needle. Serious complications have been reported from injection of steroids and local anesthetics into the vascular space. In addition to safety concerns, the efficacy may decline with partial injection outside the desired epidural location. We hypothesized that incidence of vascular problems is increased in patients who undergo spine surgery compared with the patients who don't undergo spine surgery. We investigated the incidence of vascular problems during lumbosacral transforaminal ESI and we compared the difference of vascular problems between the patients who undergo spinal surgery and those patients who don't undergo spinal surgery. Methods: Two hundreds and three patients were consecutively recruited and they received 299 fluoroscopically guided lumbosacral transforaminal ESIs. Injection of contrast was performed under live dynamic fluoroscopy with using digital substraction analysis. The observed uptake pattern was classified into one of three categories: flashback, aspirated, and positive contrast with negative flashback and aspiration. Results: The vascular incidence rate was 20.4%. Transforaminal ESIs performed at S1 had avascular incidence rate of 27.8% compared with 17.7% for all the other lumbar injection sites. The sensitivity of spontaneous observation of blood in the needle hub or blood aspirate for predicting an intravascular injection in lumbar transforaminal ESIs was 70.4%. Conclusions: There is a high incidence of intravascular problems when performing transforaminal ESIs, and this is significantly increased in patients with previous spine surgery. Using a flash or blood aspiration to predict an intravascular injection is not sensitive therefore; a negative flash or aspiration is not reliable. Fluoroscopically guided procedures without contrast confirmation are prone to instill medications intravascularly. This finding confirms the need for not only fluoroscopic guidance, but also for contrast injection instillation when performing lumbosacral transforaminal ESIs, and especially for patients with previous spine surgery.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2019

Background: Lumbosacral transforaminal epidural injection (TFEI) is an effective treatment for spinal disease. However, TFEI may have several types of complications, some of which can be attributed to intravascular injection. We reviewed studies to compare the intravascular injection rate among different needle types. Methods: We searched the literature for articles on the intravascular injection rate among different needle types used in TFEI. The search was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Results: A total of six studies comprising 2359 patients were identified. Compared with the Quincke needle, the Whitacre needle reduced the intravascular injection rate (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = [0.44-0.73], P < 0.001). However, compared with the Quincke needle, the Chiba needle did not reduce the intravascular injection rate (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = [0.44-1.45], P = 0.46). In one study, the intravascular injection rate using a blunt-tip needle was lower than that using a sharp needle. In another study, the Whitacre and the blunt-tip needle have similar intravascular injection rates, while, the catheter-extension needle showed a reduced intravascular injection rate. Conclusions: This meta-analysis showed that the Whitacre needle reduced the intravascular injection rate as compared with the Quincke needle, but failed to establish that the Chiba needle can decrease the intravascular injection rate in TFEI. Moreover, the blunt-tip needle can reduce the intravascular injection rate compared with the Quincke needle, and the catheter-extension needle can reduce the intravascular injection rate compared with the Whitacre and the blunt-tip needle.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.53-56
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• 2011

Although postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a common chronic pain syndrome, the pathophysiology of this disorder is not well known and management is often very difficult. N-methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists are known to be effective in PHN, and magnesium, a physiological blocker of NMDA receptors, is widely used to treat various chronic pain disorders. Here, we present a case of the PHN refractory to conventional treatment, which was treated successfully with transforaminal epidural injection of magnesium sulphate at the affected dermatome.