The Role of Temporal Changes in Pain Response After Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection on Treatment Success

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Transforaminal epidural steroid injection: Fluoroscopy-guided transforaminal epidural steroid injection performed as part of routine clinical care. After confirmation of correct needle placement with contrast medium and exclusion of intravascular uptake, a mixture of betamethasone, bupivacaine, and normal saline is injected slowly into the epidural space. This procedure is not assigned by the study and is performed according to standard clinical practice.

Study summary

Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is a commonly used minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of lumbar radicular pain secondary to disc herniation. Although TFESI has been shown to provide significant pain relief in a substantial proportion of patients, the onset, duration, and temporal pattern of pain relief after the procedure vary considerably among individuals. The relationship between early pain response patterns and long-term treatment success remains poorly understood.

This prospective observational study aims to evaluate whether temporal changes in pain intensity following TFESI, particularly during the early post-procedural period, are associated with clinical treatment success at mid- and long-term follow-up. Pain intensity will be assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at predefined time points following the procedure, and treatment success will be defined as a ≥50% reduction in NRS score compared with baseline.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Role of Early Temporal Changes in Pain Response on Treatment Success — Baseline to 6 months after transforaminal epidural steroid injection
  Association between temporal changes in pain response following transforaminal epidural steroid injection and clinical treatment success. Pain intensity will be assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at baseline (pre-procedure), at 1 hour post-procedure via face-to-face assessment, every 72 hours during the first 21 days, and at 1, 3, and 6 months via telephone follow-up. Temporal patterns of pain response over these time points will be analyzed in relation to clinical treatment success, defined as a ≥50% reduction in NRS score at 3 months compared with baseline.Clinical treatment success is defined as a ≥50% reduction in NRS score at 3 months compared with baseline.

Trial sites (1)

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