Trial reportClinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil)2014
Controlled medial branch anesthetic block in the diagnosis of chronic lumbar facet joint pain: the value of a three-month follow-up.
Trial report in Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multiple injections for low back pain: What's the future?European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2020Pooled it
- Psoas Compartment Block Versus Medial Branch Block for Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review of Anatomical Targets, Clinical Evidence, and Patient Selection.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- PRP INFILTRATIONActa ortopedica brasileira · 2026Article
- Patient-perceived duration of effect of lidocaine and bupivacaine following diagnostic medial branch blocks; a multicenter study.Interventional pain medicine · 2022Article
- Lumbar medial branch block progression to radiofrequency neurotomy: A retrospective audit of clinical practice.Interventional pain medicine · 2022Article
- Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for cervical spine (facet) joint pain from a multispecialty international working group.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2022Article
- Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for cervical spine (facet) joint pain from a multispecialty international working group.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2021Article
- Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for lumbar facet joint pain from a multispecialty, international working group.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2020Article
- Relationship between paravertebral muscle twitching and long-term effects of radiofrequency medial branch neurotomy.The Korean journal of pain · 2017Article
- Interventional pain management for spinal disorders: a review of injection techniques.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2016Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo verify the incidence of facetary and low back pain after a controlled medial branch anesthetic block in a three-month follow-up and to verify the correlation between the positive results and the demographic variables.
methodsPatients with chronic lumbar pain underwent a sham blockade (with a saline injection) and then a controlled medial branch block. Their symptoms were evaluated before and after the sham injection and after the real controlled medial branch block; the symptoms were reevaluated after one day and one week, as well as after one, two and three months using the visual analog scale. We searched for an association between the positive results and the demographic characteristics of the patients.
resultsA total of 104 controlled medial branch blocks were performed and 54 patients (52%) demonstrated >50% improvements in pain after the blockade. After three months, lumbar pain returned in only 18 individuals, with visual analogue scale scores >4. Therefore, these patients were diagnosed with chronic facet low back pain. The three-months of follow-up after the controlled medial branch block excluded 36 patients (67%) with false positive results. The results of the controlled medial branch block were not correlated to sex, age, pain duration or work disability but were correlated with patient age (p<0.05).
conclusionPatient diagnosis with a controlled medial branch block proved to be effective but was not associated with any demographic variables. A three-month follow-up is required to avoid a high number of false positives.
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