Abstract
Cervical nerve root infiltrations are frequently performed in patients with radiculopathy, and computed tomography (CT) is commonly used for image guidance. With the traditional anterolateral approach, catastrophic side events due to spinal ischemia have been reported. To minimize risk, a dorsal approach has been advised, but the safety of this dorsal approach has not been studied systematically. In a 5-year period, 137 cervical nerve root infiltrations using a dorsal approach were performed on 109 patients and retrospectively reviewed. In our series, no major complications like spinal ischemia, spondylodiscitis, large hematomas with the need for surgery or severe allergic reactions occurred. In conclusion, using a dorsal approach, CT-guided cervical nerve root infiltrations with an extraforaminal needle position seem to be a safe intervention.
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All procedures performed in the studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (affiliated University of Göttingen) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Gossner, J. Safety of CT-guided cervical nerve root infiltrations using a dorsal approach. Neuroradiology 62, 1185–1187 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-020-02426-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-020-02426-8