ArticleSkeletal radiology2016
Relationship of specific MRI findings to treatment outcomes in patients receiving transforaminal epidural steroid injections.
Article in Skeletal radiology, 2016. 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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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lumbar Disc Features Predictive of Favorable Response to Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection: a Comprehensive Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2026Pooled it
- Managing radicular pain in patients with normal MRIs: Challenges and insights?Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Lumbar epidural steroid injections for lumbosacral radicular pain in patients with normal imaging: A propensity-matched study.Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Prognostic factors of selective nerve root block under fluoroscopic guidance for the treatment of young patients with lumbar disc herniation and its role in preventing surgery.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Observational
- Spine injections: the rationale for CT guidance.Skeletal radiology · 2023Review
- Spinal nerve signal intensity on Dixon T2-weighted water-only sequence: an important outcome predictor after lumbar transforaminal epidural injection.European radiology · 2021Article
- Observer agreement in the choice of lumbar spine injection for pain management.Skeletal radiology · 2021Observational
- Hip MRI findings and outcomes following imaging-guided hip injections.The British journal of radiology · 2020Article
- Predictive factors for treatment success of transforaminal epidural steroid injection in lumbar disc herniation-induced sciaticaTurkish journal of medical sciences · 2020Article
- Particulate versus non-particulate corticosteroids for transforaminal nerve root blocks: Comparison of outcomes in 494 patients with lumbar radiculopathy.European radiology · 2018Article
- Role of transforaminal epidural injections or selective nerve root blocks in the management of lumbar radicular syndrome - A narrative, evidence-based review.Journal of clinical orthopaedics and traumaArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo determine whether specific MRI findings are related to outcomes after lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESI) and to assess the inter-rater reliability of imaging diagnosis. MATERIALS AND
methodsA prospective outcomes study on 156 consecutive patients with 1-month follow-up outcomes data and MRI within 3 months of TFESI was conducted. Pain levels (numerical rating scale) (NRS) were recorded prior to injection. Overall 'improvement' was determined using the Patients Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale and NRS data were collected at three time points post injection. Two radiologists independently evaluated all images blinded to treatment outcome for reliability of diagnosis. The Chi-square test compared MRI findings for the senior radiologist to 'improvement'. NRS change scores were compared to MRI findings with the unpaired t-test or ANOVA. Kappa and percent agreement assessed inter-rater agreement of diagnosis.
resultsThe only abnormality linked to 'improvement' (p = 0.03) and higher NRS change scores (p = 0.0001) at 1 month was the disc herniation morphology 'protrusion + sequestration'. Patients with degeneration by osteophytes (p = 0.034), grade 3 foraminal nerve root compression (p = 0.01) and foraminal/extraforaminal location of herniation (p = 0.014) also had higher 1 month NRS change scores. Reliability of diagnosis was 'fair' to 'substantial' depending on MRI findings.
conclusionsPatients with disc protrusion plus sequestration were significantly more likely to report overall improvement and more pain reduction at 1 month. Higher pain reduction was noted in patients with degeneration by osteophytes, grade 3 foraminal nerve root compression, or foraminal/extraforaminal disc herniation location.
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