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Revista de la Asociación Argentina de Ortopedia y Traumatología
On-line version ISSN 1852-7434
Abstract
BESSE, Micaela et al. Resultados del bloqueo epidural caudal en pacientes laboralmente activos con dolor lumbar. Rev. Asoc. Argent. Ortop. Traumatol. [online]. 2021, vol.86, n.6, pp.763-770. ISSN 1852-7434. http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.15417/issn.1852-7434.2021.86.6.1339.
Introduction: Low back pain is a very common health problem worldwide and a major cause of disability, affecting performance at work and general well-being. It is included in the priority diseases list of the World Health Organization (WHO). Low back pain is one of the leading causes of work absence worldwide. The caudal epidural block is a popular approach in managing lumbar pain conditions in adults. Materials and Methods: An observational, descriptive, retrospective study was conducted in our institution, from January 2017 to January 2019, on patients who had undergone caudal epidural block for low back pain. We excluded patients with a history of previous epidural blocks, lumbar surgery, or who were lost to follow up. We collected patient demographic and clinical data (including age, sex, etc.) and procedure outcomes (pain score, surgery performed, lost working days, and return to work activity). Results: 38 patients were included. Mean age was 43 (27- 62) years old. Mean pain scores 3 months after treatment were 3.5 (2-6) with a difference of 4.5 (IQR -2.7 - -7) from baseline values. This was statistically significant. 55.3% (n=21) of patients returned to active duty in the first month; it is important to note that 52.4% of those (n=11) did it after the first week. Conclusions: The improvement of pain scores after the procedures was statistically significant. The mean return to work at the end of the first month was 55.3%, and 76.2% of those (n=16) did it after the first two weeks.
Keywords : Caudal epidural injection; caudal block; missing working days; low back pain; return-to-work.