Lumbar Dorsal Root Ganglion Block as a Prognostic Tool Before Pulsed Radiofrequency: A Randomized, Prospective, and Comparative Study on Cost-Effectiveness
In the study, we discuss the predictive value and cost-effectiveness of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) blocks prior to using dorsal root ganglion pulsed radiofrequency (DRG-PRF) in the treatment of low back pain.
The study comprised 60 patients with low back pain who were randomly assigned into two groups. Patients in Group 1 were screened using DRG block prior to DRG-PRF treatment for responders. Patients in Group 2 underwent DRG-PRF treatment without DRG block. Successful outcome was defined as patient satisfaction, improvement in numerical rating scale, and medication use reduction.
In group 1 (n=30), 24 patients demonstrated good response to DRG block, and 20 patients had successful outcome at six months after DRG-PRF therapy. In group 2 (n=30), 25 of the patients had successful outcome at six months after DRG-PRF therapy. The mean medical cost were NT$ 19,245 and NT$ 16,375 for each successful case in groups 1 and 2, respectively.
In this comparative cost-effectiveness study, the application of diagnostic DRG blocks before DRG-PRF did not have a significant impact on patient satisfaction, pain index score, or pain medication reduction. Furthermore, the application of diagnostic DRG blocks resulted in overall higher medical costs. These findings suggest that DRG-PRF without screening by DRG-block is more cost-effective and less invasive.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 May 2018.
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