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CLINICAL OUTCOME OF STEROID INJECTION AND

ABLATIVE RADIOFREQUENCY IN 43 PATIENTS

Achmad Fahmi, MD; Agus Turchan, MD, PhD; Wihasto Suryaningtyas, MD

Functional Neurosurgery Division, Department of Neurosurgery

Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, DR Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia

OBJECTIVES

METHODS

CONCLUSIONS

To report the outcome of steroid injection and ablative radiofrequency in 43 patient with

persistent severe spinal pain followed up for 2 years.

Interventional pain management was the

safe and convinience to control the pain.

Safe and minimal invasive procedure and

one-day-care treatment are some of the

advantages offered by this procedure.

Ablative radiofrequency offers a longer pain

free period than the steroid injection.

Almost all (88%) of the patients who had steroid injection experienced the pain free period for 20 weeks. Four

patients (12%) had about 20 to 30 weeks period of pain free ( fig.1 ). It is different with patients that performed ablative

radiofrequency. Almost all (75%) of the patients that performed ablative radiofrequency had more than 20 weeks pain

free time, and just 2 patients (25%) had before 20 weeks pain free time ( fig. 2 ).

Most of the patient had good response immediately after the procedure, and stayed convenient for about 3

months after steroid injection and 7 months after ablative radiofrequency. Patient needed to had another procedure

when the patient felt the pain again, and the shortest time period for repeated procedure was about 1 week for steroid

injection and 4 weeks for ablative radiofrequency.

We performed interventional pain management in 43 patients with axial

and radicular pain. Forty one patients had degenerative process at the

spine, one patient with failed back surgery, and one patient with

compression fracture confirmed by spinal MRI. Thirty five patients (81% )

underwent steroid injection and 8 patients (19%) had ablative

radiofrequency.(1, 2) We used steroid either triamcinolone or

methylprednisolone or dexamethasone depend on the site of the

procedure.(3)(3) Pulse or thermal radiofrequency was used for ablative

procedure.(4) C-Arm was used for guiding.(5) Follow up was done by

interviewing the patients regarding the subjective experience after

procedure. RESULTS

A. Epidural injection, B. Selective nerve root

A B

C-arm guidance procedure

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