부산대학교 도서관

[OBJECTIVE] We conducted a prospective study to assess the effectiveness of a selective nerve root block (SNRB) for lumbar radiculopathy with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) or lumbar canal stenosis (LCS). [METHODS] Between April 2008 and November 2009, 78 patients with radiculopathy were treated with an SNRB. We divided these 78 patients into 49 patients with LDH and 29 patients with LCS. The patients who needed an operation were treated with an SNRB once on an outpatient basis. The SNRB was performed using fluoroscopy. Clinical outcomes were determined by modified Macnab criteria at final follow-up. We assessed the relationships between clinical outcomes and age, disease duration, VAS score, and effective duration of the SNRB. [RESULTS] The efficacy rate in LDH patients was 47%, significantly higher than that in LCS patients (29%). The surgical rate was 39% in LDH patients and 59% in LCS patients. In the effective groups, many patients' SNRB's efficacy exceeded 24 hours. [CONCLUSION] About half of the patients with lumbar radiculopathy could avoid surgery by undergoing an SNRB, so we concluded that SNRBs are useful and that physicians should try one before operating on patients with lumbar radiculopathy with LDH or LCS.