Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Marmara University, Pain Management, Istanbul, Turkey | [b] Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Sibel Demir-Deviren, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery-Spine Center, University of California, San Francisco, 500 Parnassus Avenue, MU 320 W, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Tel.: +1 415 476 8937; Fax: +1 415 476 1304; E-mail:Sibel.Demir@ucsf.edu
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFE) is a
widely accepted non-surgical treatment for pain in patients with
spondylolisthesis. However, the effectiveness of TFE has not been compared
in patients with degenerative (DS) and isthmic spondylolisthesis (IS). OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of bilateral TFEs in DS and
IS. METHODS: Patients who underwent bilateral TFEs for
spondylolisthesis at University of California San Francisco Orthopaedic
Institute from 2009 to 2014 were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: DS patients (120 female, 51 male) were significantly older
and had higher comorbidity than those with IS (18 female, 14 male). They had
better pain relief after TFE than patients with IS (72.11 ± 27.46% vs
54.39 ± 34.31%; p = 0.009). The number of TFEs, the mean duration of
pain relief after TFE, follow-up periods, translation and facet joint
widening were similar in DS and IS groups (p > 0.05). DS group had higher
successful treatment rate (66.1% vs 46.9%, p = 0.009) and longer
duration of pain relief (181.29 ± 241.37 vs 140.07 ± 183.62 days,
p = 0.065) compared to IS group. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral TFEs at the level of spondylolisthesis
effectively decreased pain in patients. TFEs provided better pain relief for
longer duration in patients with DS than for those with IS.
