
A Critical Look at the Data Supporting Ultrasound Guided Cervical Medial Branch Blocks
Author(s) -
Meredith Barad
Publication year - 2020
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.30756/ahmj.2020.03.02
Subject(s) - medicine , critical appraisal , cervical spine , facet joint , evidence based medicine , medical physics , radiology , surgery , alternative medicine , lumbar , pathology
According to guidelines published by the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians in 2013 1, 2, the current evidence for cervical facet joint injections is fair. Yet the volume of these procedures continues to rise 3. There is a need for a more critical appraisal of the benefit, technique and adverse effects associated with cervical spine injections. The systematic review and meta-analysis by Paredes et al 4 seeks to better assess the evidence for use of ultrasound (US) guidance with cervical medial branch blocks. This article is also a response to a recently published critique by Schneider et al 5 raising concerns about the paucity of evidence evaluating the safety, accuracy, and effectiveness of US-guided cervical spine procedures.