CT-guided therapy of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation by precise injection around nerve root and in epidural cavity

Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH) by CT-guided precise injection around nerve root and in epidural cavity. Methods One hundred and eight patients of LIDH were treated by CT-guided precise injection around nerve root and in epidural cavity, and followed-up after 1, 3 and 6 months. Visual analogue score (VAS) for pain was used to evaluate the efficacy before and after treatment. Results In 108 cases, there were 83 patients (76.9%) with good result whose improvement of VAS was greater than or equal 50% after treatment 1, 3 and 6 months. There were 19 patients (17.6%) with fair result whose improvement of VAS was less than 50% after treatment 1, 3 and 6 months. There were 6 patients (5.6%) with invalid result whose improvement of VAS was unobvious after treatment 1, 3 and 6 months. Conclusion CT-guided therapy of LIDH by precise injection around nerve root and in epidural cavity is safe, accurate, effective, minimally aggressive technique and worth being practiced clinically. Key words: Intervertebral disc displacement;  Tomography,X-ray computed;  Epidural space D0I:10.3760/cma.j.issn.1673-4904.2011.23.010