Single-surgeon pure endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery of pituitary tumor in 262 consecutive cases: Outcome and complication

Abstract

Object. Selective nerve root block(SNRB) is used for diagnosis and treatment of different spinal disorder. A clear consensus on the use of selective nerve root injections as a diagnostic tool does not currently exist. Additionally, the effectiveness of these procedure as a diagnostic tool is not clear. The present study was performed to determine the efficacy of SNRB as diagnostic tool of radicular back pain.

Methods. A total of 79 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disease between March 2009 and September 2012 were included in this study. Patients were divided into four groups including those with preoperative SNRB and electromyography(EMG) (group A), those with preoperative EMG only(group B), those with preoperative SNRB only(group C), and those with no preoperative SNRB or EMG(group D). The postoperative symptoms are compared between each groups.

Results. Eight patients were included in group A, 7 patients in group B, 17 patients in group C, and 47 patients in group D. The patients with preoperative SNRB(group A and group C) tend to have more improved prognosis after surgery compared with the patients who did not undergo SNRB(group B and group D). However, the result did not satisfy the statistical significancy(p=0.0627).

Conclusions. SNRB may be helpful as a diagnostic addition in evaluating spinal disorders with radicular features, but the role of this diagnostic test needs to be further clarified by additional research and consensus on technique.