Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32049868›Full record

Observational studyMedicine2020

Transforaminal epidural steroid injections in cervical spinal disease with moderate to severe disability: Comparative study in patients with or without surgery.

Jae-Young Hong, Jin-Sung Park, Seung-Woo Suh, Jae-Hyuk Yang, Si-Young Park, Bo Taek Kim

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Jae-Young HongDepartment of Orthopedics, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan.
Jin-Sung ParkDepartment of Orthopedics, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan.
Seung-Woo SuhDepartment of Orthopedics, Korea University Guro Hospital.
Jae-Hyuk YangDepartment of Orthopedics, Korea University Guro Hospital.
Si-Young ParkDepartment of Orthopedics, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
Bo Taek KimDepartment of Orthopedics, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan.
Korea University Medical Center · KRKorea University · KRAnsan University · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite many clinical trials on cervical epidural steroid injections, the indications for and long-standing outcomes of this treatment remain controversial. We evaluated the outcomes and indications for transforaminal cervical epidural steroid injection (TCESI) in patients with moderate to severe disability.We prospectively gathered data from patients with 1 or 2-level cervical degenerative disease (herniated disc, foraminal stenosis) with moderate to severe disability (3.5 < initial visual analog scale < 6.5, 15 < Neck Disability Index < 35) and greater than 12 weeks of pain, despite conservative treatment. Patients with persistent disability and those who desired surgical intervention underwent decompression surgery. The clinical and demographic characteristics were compared between groups.Of the 309 patients who underwent TCESI, 221 (72%) did not receive surgical treatment during the 1-year follow-up period. The remaining 88 patients (28%) underwent surgery at a mean of 4.1 months after initial TCESI. Patients who underwent injection alone showed a significant decrease in disability and pain that persisted until the 1-year follow-up visit (P < .05). In patients who underwent surgery, the mean disability and pain scores after injection did not decrease for several months, although the scores significantly decreased up to 1 year after surgery (P < .05).The TCESI significantly decreased pain and disability in the moderate to severe disability group up to 1 year after injection. We recommend cervical TCESI as an initial treatment with moderate to severe disability patients.

Indexed as

Cervical VertebraeDexamethasoneFemaleGlucocorticoidsHumansInjections, EpiduralIntervertebral Disc DegenerationMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeDexamethasoneGlucocorticoids

Identifiers

PMID32049868
PMCPMC7035037
OpenAlexW3006250217

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.