Middle-term therapeutic effect of the sacroiliac joint blockade in patients with lumbosacral fusion-related sacroiliac pain

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the therapeutic effect of sacroiliac (SI) blockade in patients with and without lumbosacral fusion. Methods: This study included 72 patients diagnosed with SI pain and who received blockade injection (methylprednisolone and lidocaine). Patients were divided into 2 groups; 22 patients in the fusion group who underwent previous lumbosacral fusion and 50 patients in the non-fusion group. Average follow-up was 17.7 (range: 6 to 30) months. All patients were evaluated before and after intervention using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index, Rivermead Mobility Index and SF- 36. Results were statistically analyzed. Results: Activity pain (a component of VAS) was significantly better in the non-fusion group than the fusion group (p=0.042). No other statistically significant differences were observed between groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Sacroiliac blockade has a similar therapeutic effect on patients who underwent lumbosacral fusion surgery as on non-operated patients in the middle-term. Therefore, alternative treatment options are not necessary in patients with fusion. © 2014 Turkish Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology