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Ultrasound‐Guided Cervical Facet Joint Injections
Author(s) -
Freire Veronique,
Grabs Detlev,
Lepage-Saucier Marianne,
Moser Thomas P.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1550-9613
pISSN - 0278-4297
DOI - 10.7863/ultra.15.07062
Subject(s) - medicine , facet joint , cadaveric spasm , facet (psychology) , cadaver , body mass index , ultrasound , exact test , radiography , surgery , nuclear medicine , orthodontics , radiology , psychology , personality , big five personality traits , social psychology , lumbar spine
Objectives To evaluate the feasibility of ultrasound (US)‐guided cervical facet injections and to identify the potential obstacles to routine use of this technique. Methods After Institutional Review Board approval, 4 cadavers were used in this study. Age, sex, body mass index, and neck circumference were recorded. A total of 40 facet injections were performed from C2–C3 to C6–C7 under US guidance with radiodense colored latex. Visibility of cervical tissues and the needle was graded as complete, partial, or null (no injection was performed in this case). Frontal and lateral radiographs were taken, followed by cadaveric dissection to assess contrast and the latex distribution, which were recorded as intra‐articular (success), peri‐articular (success), or absent (failure). A 2‐tailed Fisher exact test and Pearson χ 2 test were used to evaluate difference between success and failure rates for qualitative variables. Results Seventy‐eight percent (31 of 40) of US‐guided facet joint injections were successful. No statistically significant differences were found regarding body mass index, neck circumference, needle caliber, operators, and between left and right sides. All failures involved C2–C3 and C6–C7 levels, and this result was statistically significant (Pearson χ 2 = 20.645; P < .001). Conclusions Although US‐guided cervical facet joint injections are feasible, substantial obstacles may prevent their routine use. The main obstacle is to effectively identify and target the correct cervical level in a prone position.