Commonly used interventional procedures for non-cancer chronic spine pain: a clinical practice guideline

What is the comparative effectiveness and safety of commonly used interventional procedures (such as spinal injections and ablation procedures) for chronic axial and radicular spine pain that is not associated with cancer or inflammatory arthropathy?

Chronic spine pain is a common, potentially disabling complaint, for which clinicians often administer interventional procedures. However, clinical practice guidelines provide inconsistent recommendations for their use.

For people living with chronic axial spine pain (≥3 months), the guideline panel issued strong recommendations against: joint radiofrequency ablation with or without joint targeted injection of local anaesthetic plus steroid; epidural injection of local anaesthetic, steroids, or their combination; joint-targeted injection of local anaesthetic, steroids, or their combination; and intramuscular injection of local anaesthetic with or without steroids. For people living with chronic radicular spine pain (≥3 months), the guideline panel issued strong recommendations against: dorsal root ganglion radiofrequency with or without epidural injection of local anaesthetic or local anaesthetic plus steroids; and epidural injection of local anaesthetic, steroids, or their combination.

An international guideline development panel including four people living with chronic spine pain, 10 clinicians with experience managing chronic spine pain, and eight methodologists, produced these recommendations in adherence with standards for trustworthy guidelines using the GRADE approach. The MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation provided methodological support. The guideline panel applied an individual patient perspective when formulating recommendations.

These recommendations are informed by a linked systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials and a systematic review of observational studies, summarising the current body of evidence for benefits and harms of common interventional procedures for axial and radicular, chronic, non-cancer spine pain. Specifically, injection of local anaesthetic, steroids, or their combination into the cervical or lumbar facet joint or sacroiliac joint; epidural injections of local anaesthetic, steroids, or their combination; radiofrequency of dorsal root ganglion; radiofrequency denervation of cervical or lumbar facet joints or the sacroiliac joint; and paravertebral intramuscular injections of local anaesthetic, steroids, or their combination.

These recommendations apply to people living with chronic spine pain (≥3 months duration) that is not associated with cancer or inflammatory arthropathy and do not apply to the management of acute spine pain. Further research is warranted and may alter recommendations in the future: in particular, whether there are differences in treatment effects based on subtypes of chronic spine pain, establishing the effectiveness of interventional procedures currently supported by low or very low certainty evidence, and effects on poorly reported patient-important outcomes (such as opioid use, return to work, and sleep quality).