Dextrose Injection Shows Efficacy in Sacroiliac Joint Pain
Sacroiliac joint denervation with hypertonic dextrose injections showed efficacy in 12 of 15 patients (80%) included in a recent study, reported Pankaj Satija, MD, fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, in San Antonio, TX, and colleagues.1
The patients underwent fluoroscopic-guided injections with 16.6% hypertonic dextrose, which is believed to have chemoneuromodulatory and possibly neurolytic effects. As noted, 12 patients experienced a ≥50% decreased in visual analog scale (VAS) score, two patients had a <50% response, and one patient’s pain worsened. The average VAS score decreased from 6.4 at baseline to 1.2 after treatment (P< 0.0001), and pain relief lasted an average of 8.8 months in responders. Responders showed significant pain relief on day 1. No complications were reported.
Reference
- Satija P, Parker M, Eckmann M, Ramamurthy S. Dextrose injection of sacral lateral branches for chronic sacroiliac joint pain. Pain. 2011. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2011.02.282.
