Objective:

In mechanical low back pain due to lumbar facet syndrome, periarticular and intra-articular blocks of the lumbar facet joints as well as nerve blocks of the medial branch of the spinal nerve root or posterior branch of the spinal nerve are indicated as therapeutic options.

The nerve block of the medial branch can be performed by ultrasound or radioscopic monitoring. The aim of this study is to assess whether there are differences in the analgesic efficacy of the block depending on the imaging technique used (ultrasound versus fluoroscopic-radioscopy).

Patients and method:

A cross-sectional clinical study was conducted during the month of November 2020, analysing the facet blocks performed in the Pain Unit of the Hospital Universitario Clínico de Salamanca between May 2018 and September 2020. The sample analysed consisted of 315 patients, of whom 212 underwent an echo-guided facet block in consultation and 103 were performed under radioscopic control in the operating theatre.

The initial pain measurement, prior to the block, was evaluated using the visual analogue scale (initial VAS), as well as the final VAS and the percentage of subjective improvement recorded 15 days after the intervention, assessing the differences according to the imaging technique used for its performance.

Results:

The final VAS values of the patients who underwent radioscopic block and those who underwent echo-guided block were similar, with a final result of 3.5 (median), as was the percentage of subjective improvement, which was also similar in both groups, reaching 50 %.

Conclusions:

There are no differences in the analgesic efficacy of the lumbar facet block depending on the imaging technique used for its performance: fluoroscopy-radioscopy or ultrasound.

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