Evaluation of intervertebral disc using T2 mapping sequences in patients undergoing O2-O3 chemiodiscolysis: an instrumental study with clinical correlation

Effectiveness of intradiscal ozone injections for treating pain following herniated lumbar disc: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Low back pain and sciatica caused by herniated lumbar discs (HLDs) are common complaints among patients visiting pain clinics. Among the various therapeutic methods, intradiscal ozone injections have emerged as an effective alternative or additional treatment option for HLDs.

OBJECTIVE

This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effectiveness of intradiscal ozone injections in the treatment of HLDs.

METHODS

We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases for relevant studies published until January 25, 2024. We included studies that investigated the efficacy of intradiscal ozone injections in patients with HLDs. We evaluated the methodological quality of individual studies using the Cochrane Collaboration tool.

RESULTS

At ⩾ 6 months after treatment, the therapeutic effect of intradiscal ozone injections in patients with HLDs was greater than that of steroid injections (treatment success rate, 6 months: odds ratio = 3.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] [2.44, 6.39], P< 0.01) or conventional medications (changes in the Visual Analog Scale [VAS], 6 months: standardized mean difference [SMD] = 1.65, 95% CI [1.08, 2.22], P< 0.01; 12 months: SMD = 1.52, 95% CI [0.96, 2.08], P< 0.01) but similar to that of microdiscectomy (changes in VAS, 18 months: SMD =-0.05, 95% CI [-0.67, 0.57], P= 0.87). At < 6 months after treatment, the reduction in the VAS score after intradiscal ozone injections was higher than that after steroid injections (changes in VAS, 1 month: SMD = 2.53, 95% CI [1.84, 3.21], P< 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Intradiscal ozone injections may be a useful therapeutic tool in patients with HLDs. Compared with other conventional treatment methods such as steroid injections and oral medications, intradiscal ozone injection has great long-term (⩾ 6 months) effectiveness.

Intradiscal oxygen-ozone chemonucleolysis versus microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation radiculopathy: a non-inferiority randomized control trial

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

Low back pain with or without radicular leg pain is an extremely common health condition significantly impacting patient's activities and quality of life. When conservative management fails, epidural injections providing only temporary relief, are frequently utilized. Intradiscal oxygen-ozone may offer an alternative to epidural injections and further reduce the need for microdiscectomy.

PURPOSE

To compare the non-inferiority treatment status and clinical outcomes of intradiscal oxygen-ozone with microdiscectomy in patients with refractory radicular leg pain due to single-level contained lumbar disc herniations.

STUDY DESIGN / SETTING

Multicenter pilot prospective non-inferiority blocked randomized control trial conducted in three European hospital spine centers.

PATIENT SAMPLE

Forty-nine patients (mean 40 years of age, 17 females/32 males) with a single-level contained lumbar disc herniation, radicular leg pain for more than six weeks, and resistant to medical management were randomized, 25 to intradiscal oxygen-ozone and 24 to microdiscectomy. 88% (43 of 49) received their assigned treatment and constituted the AS-Treated (AT) population.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary outcome was overall 6-month improvement over baseline in leg pain. Other validated clinical outcomes, including back numerical rating pain scores (NRS), Roland Morris Disability Index (RMDI) and EQ-5D, were collected at baseline, 1 week, 1-, 3-, and 6-months. Procedural technical outcomes were recorded and adverse events were evaluated at all follow-up intervals.

METHODS

Oxygen-ozone treatment performed as outpatient day surgeries, included a one-time intradiscal injection delivered at a concentration of 35±3 μg/cc of oxygen-ozone by a calibrated delivery system. Discectomies performed as open microdiscectomy inpatient surgeries, were without spinal instrumentation, and not as subtotal microdiscectomies. Primary analyses with a non-inferiority margin of -1.94-point difference in 6-month cumulative weighted mean leg pain NRS scores were conducted using As-Treated (AT) and Intent-to-Treat (ITT) populations. In post hoc analyses, differences between treatment groups in improvement over baseline were compared at each follow-up visit, using baseline leg pain as a covariate.

RESULTS

In the primary analysis, the overall 6-month difference between treatment groups in leg pain improvement using the AT population was -0.31 (SE, 0.84) points in favor of microdiscectomy and using the ITT population, the difference was 0.32 (SE, 0.88) points in favor of oxygen-ozone. The difference between oxygen-ozone and microdiscectomy did not exceed the non-inferiority 95% confidence lower limit of treatment difference in either the AT (95% lower limit, -1.72) or ITT (95% lower limit, -1.13) populations. Both treatments resulted in rapid and statistically significant improvements over baseline in leg pain, back pain, RMDI, and EQ-5D that persisted in follow-up. Between group differences were not significant for any outcomes. During 6-month follow-up, 71% (17 of 24) of patients receiving oxygen-ozone, avoided microdiscectomy. The mean procedure time for oxygen-ozone was significantly faster than microdiscectomy by 58 minutes (p<.0010) and the mean discharge time from procedure was significantly shorter for the oxygen-ozone procedure (4.3±2.9 hours vs. 44.2±29.9 hours, p<.001). No major adverse events occurred in either treatment group.

CONCLUSIONS

Intradiscal oxygen-ozone chemonucleolysis for single-level lumbar disc herniations unresponsive to medical management, met the non-inferiority criteria to microdiscectomy on 6-month mean leg pain improvement. Both treatment groups achieved similar rapid significant clinical improvements that persisted and overall, 71% undergoing intradiscal oxygen-ozone were able to avoid surgery.

Imaging Evaluation of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration and Painful Discs-Advances and Challenges in Quantitative MRI

In recent years, various quantitative and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences have been developed and used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of patients with low back pain (LBP). Until now, T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), a visual qualitative evaluation method, has been used to diagnose intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. However, this method has limitations in terms of reproducibility and inter-observer agreement. Moreover, T2WI observations do not directly relate with LBP. Therefore, new sequences such as T2 mapping, T1ρ mapping, and MR spectroscopy have been developed as alternative quantitative evaluation methods. These new quantitative MRIs can evaluate the anatomical and physiological changes of IVD degeneration in more detail than conventional T2WI. However, the values obtained from these quantitative MRIs still do not directly correlate with LBP, and there is a need for more widespread use of techniques that are more specific to clinical symptoms such as pain. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art methodologies and future challenges of quantitative MRI as an imaging diagnostic tool for IVD degeneration and painful discs.

Q-Dixon and GRAPPATINI T2 Mapping Parameters: A Whole Spinal Assessment of the Relationship Between Osteoporosis and Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

BACKGROUND

The relationship between osteoporosis and intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration remains controversial. Novel quantitative Dixon (Q-Dixon) and GRAPPATINI T2 mapping techniques have shown potential for evaluating the biochemical components of the spine.

PURPOSE

To investigate the correlation of osteoporosis with IVD degeneration in postmenopausal women.

STUDY TYPE

Prospective.

SUBJECTS

A total of 105 postmenopausal females (mean age, 65 years; mean body mass index, 26 kg/m² ).

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE

3 T; sagittal; 6-echo Q-Dixon, multiecho spin-echo GRAPPATINI T2 mapping, turbo spin echo (TSE) T1-weighted and TSE T2-weighted sequences.

ASSESSMENT

The subjects were divided into normal (N = 47), osteopenia (N = 28), and osteoporosis (N = 30) groups according to quantitative computed tomography examination. The Pfirrmann grade of each IVD was obtained. Region of interest analysis was performed separately by two radiologists (X.L., with 10 years of experience, and S.C., with 20 years of experience) on a fat fraction map and T2 map to calculate the bone marrow fat fraction (BMFF) from the L1 to L5 vertebrae and the T2 values of each adjacent IVD separately.

STATISTICAL TESTS

One-way analysis of variance, post-hoc comparisons, and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were performed to evaluate the differences in the magnetic resonance imaging parameters between the groups. The relationships between BMFF and the IVD features were analyzed using the Spearman correlation analysis and linear regression models.

RESULTS

There were significant differences in BMFF among the three groups. The osteoporosis group had higher BMFF values (64.5 ± 5.9%). No significant correlation was found between BMFF and Pfirrmann grade (r = 0.251, P = 0.06). BMFF was significantly negatively correlated with the T2 of the adjacent IVD from L1 to L3 (r = -0.731; r = -0.637; r = -0.547), while significant weak correlations were found at the L4 to L5 levels (r = -0.337; r = -0.278).

DATA CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that osteoporosis is associated with IVD degeneration.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 4.

O2-O3 chemodiscolysis: How much, how long? Retrospective outcome evaluation of different treatment sessions in partially-responder patients

PURPOSE

To retrospectively evaluate the clinical and instrumental outcome of different treatment sessions of oxygen-ozone (O₂-O₃) chemodiscolysis in patients with lumbar disc herniation.

METHODS

We evaluated 73 patients partially responders to a single session of oxygen-ozone (O₂-O₃) chemodiscolysis and submitted to multiple injections sessions. All patients completed a pre- and post-treatment clinical (VAS and modified McNab score) and instrumental MRI follow-up. Imaging evaluation included assessment of intervertebral disc area (IDA). Pre- and post-treatment differences were compared to evaluate differences in variation between groups. Correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between morphological and clinical parameters.

RESULTS

Based on the type and number of treatments performed, patients were divided into three groups: Group A) patients submitted to an additional periradicular anaesthetic/steroid injection; Group B) patients submitted to an additional session of intradiscal O₂-O₃ injection; Group C) patients submitted to two further sessions of intradiscal O₂-O₃ injection.The results showed an improvement of pain scores in all groups, and a smaller disc area change in group B. Comparing the differences between pre- and post-treatment features among the three different groups of patients, we did not find any statistically significant difference. Correlation analysis did not show any statistically significant correlation between the morphological changes of the intervertebral disc and the clinical output scores.

CONCLUSIONS

In our retrospective observation of partially responder patients, multiple intradiscal ozone injections were not associated with a higher disc shrinkage nor superior clinical outcome compared to a single intradiscal O₂-O₃ application with an additional periradicular injection session.

Percutaneous cervical coblation as therapeutic technique in the treatment of algo-dysfunctional pain of discal herniation

OBJECTIVE

To confirm the validity of coblation nucleoplasty in reduction of cervical discogenic nature.

STUDY DESIGN

In a monocentric prospective clinical observational study recruiting 20 patients, treated with percutaneous coblation for cervical discogenic pain in 16 months in our hospital, we have clinically evaluated 18 patients. The pain was scored with the Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) in a pre-procedural questionary, 3/4 monthly follow-up from treatment and, finally, in a long-term follow-up 2 years after procedure.

RESULTS

The mean pre-procedural VAS score was 7.9 ± 1.6 (95%-Confidence Interval 7.198-8.634), while the mean post-procedural score after 3-4 months has been 2.5 ± 3.1 (95%-Confidence Interval 1.089-3.965) and 2.5 ± 2.5 (95%-Confidence Interval 1.367-3.687) after 2 years. Among 18 patients, in the shortly post-treatment follow-up, nine had a complete pain relief, four had a > 50% VAS reduction, two hada < 50% VAS reduction, three did not have any variation of VAS; after 2 years, six patients had a total pain resolution, eight had a > 50% VAS reduction, two hada < 50% VAS reduction, two did not have any benefit. No peri- and post-procedural complication has been observed.

CONCLUSIONS

In a spite of a little sample, our results showed coblation as a valid therapeutic option to reduce cervical discogenic pain in medicine-refractory patients, as an alternative or a previous choice before a more invasive surgical treatment.

Diagnostic and interventional management of infective spine diseases

Spondylodiscitis (SD) is one of the main causes of back pain. Although the low mortality, high morbidity is related to spondilodiscitys, leading spine instability, chronic pain or neurological deficit. Diagnostic imaging plays a primary role in diagnosing spondylodiscitis. However different accuracy is highlighted by different diagnostic tool, depending also on timing of disease which represents a cardinal element for the phenotypic manifestation of the disease, beyond spatial resolution and tissue characterization proper of specific modality imaging. Conventional Radiology (CR), Computed Tomography (CT) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) all have proven to be of primary importance in the approach to spondylodiscitis, although magnetic resonance imaging has demonstrated the greatest advantage in identifying the disease from its earliest stages, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity (92% and 96%, respectively). This review focus on the role of different imaging modality in the approach to the spondylodiscitis, also addressing the role of interventional radiology that is pivotal not only for a diagnosis of certainty through biopsy, but also for a minimally-invasive treatment of paravertebral abscesses spondylodiscitis-related. (www.actabiomedica.it)