Caudal Epidural Steroid Injections in Discojenic Pain: Review Article

Introduction: Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) have been widely used for over 50 years in the treatment of back pain with or without radiculopathy. In this study we aimed to evaluate the effects of caudal epidural steroid injections (CESIs) in patients suffering from discogenic pain, resistant to conservative medical therapy. Methods: Systematic review of 270 CESIs performed patients data’ suffering from discogenic pain from January to December 2016 were evaluated. The pain’s exact region was marked as left, right, and bilateral. Patients who had operated before were recorded. According to the source of the discogenic pain, patients were divided into two like; upper lumbar pain (L1-4), lower lumbar pain (L4-S1). Visual analogue scale (VAS) values were recorded before the injection, after the injection and at 1, 3, 6th months during the control visits. Results: A total of 270 patients with discogenic pain were included in the study. 172 of them were male (63.7 %), while 98 of them female (36.3%). VAS scores in all recorded times after injection were found significantly lower compared the values of preinjection (p < 0.05). VAS values in Pain Group L4-S1 were found lower than Pain Group L1-4 for all recorded times. According to the regions of pain, VAS values didn’t differ. VAS scores compared between the patients operated before and the nonoperated patients didn’t differ significantly. Discussions: CESIs are effective in patients suffering from discogenic back pain resistant to conservative and medical therapy. It is a safe and effective method with low complication rates.