Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41229354›Full record

ArticleJournal of Yeungnam medical science2025

Quantitative evaluation of upper extremity strength recovery after cervical epidural block: a retrospective study.

Dong Hyuck Kim, Do Yun Kwon, Kwang-Ryeol Kim

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of Yeungnam medical science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Dong Hyuck KimDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
Do Yun KwonDepartment of Aviation Medical Squadron, Republic of Korea Air Force, Daegu, Korea.
Kwang-Ryeol KimDepartment of Neurosurgery, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of cervical epidural block (CEB) in enhancing upper extremity (UE) muscle strength in patients with cervical disc herniation (CDH).

methodsTen patients with CDH underwent a single CEB session. Follow-up assessments were conducted weekly for 2 weeks through outpatient visits. Handgrip strength on the affected side (AHGS) and the interlateral difference in handgrip strength (DHGS) between the affected and unaffected sides were measured using a dynamometer before, immediately after, 1 and 2 weeks after CEB. Neck pain and radiating UE pain were assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) at baseline and 2 weeks posttreatment.

resultsThe median patient age was 46.4 years (range, 35-78 years). The affected disc levels were C5-6 in five patients, C6-7 in three, and C5-6-7 in two. The left side was affected in six patients and the right in four. The mean VAS score for neck pain decreased from 7.2 to 2.9, whereas that for radiating UE pain decreased from 6.3 to 2.8 after treatment. Both the AHGS and DHGS improved significantly compared to the baseline values at all posttreatment times. However, no significant differences were observed among the posttreatment time points. These findings remained consistent even after adjusting for age and sex.

conclusionCEB may offer therapeutic benefits by alleviating pain and improving UE muscle weakness in patients with CDH. However, further large-scale prospective studies are required to validate these preliminary results and determine the long-term efficacy of CEB in managing CDH.

Indexed as

Cervical disc herniationDynamometerEpidural blockHandgrip strengthVisual analogue scale

Identifiers

PMID41229354
PMCPMC12800552

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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.