Clinical classification of lumber radiculopathy using the painDETECT Questionnaire and short-term effectiveness of nerve root blocks in each group

Abstract

To compare the short-term effectiveness of nerve-root blocks between three clinical groups of lumber radiculopathy patients classified under the painDETECT Questionnaire (PDQ). The patients included in this study were suffering from lumber radiculopathy with the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of 40 mm or higher, but drug therapies and epidural steroid injections were not effective. Each nerve-root block was considered “effective” if the patient's VAS score improved 50 % or higher 2 to 3 weeks after treatment. The average frequencies were then compared between the PDQ groups. Among the 91 patients, all of whom obtained statistically signifi - cant VAS improvements, the average frequencies of effective results were 62% for the nociceptive, 41 % for the mixed, and 28 % for the neuropathic groups. In the effectiveness of nerve-root blocks to the lumber radiculopathy patients, no statistically signifi cant difference was observed in a comparison of the three PDQ groups.