CT-guided sacroiliac joint injection for chronic sacroiliitis: outcomes and predictors in a retrospective cohort...

To evaluate the safety, technical success, and clinical outcomes of CT-guided sacroiliac joint (SIJ) injections in patients with chronic sacroiliitis and to assess the impact of disease etiology, age, and body mass index (BMI) on therapeutic response.

This retrospective study included 80 patients with clinically and radiologically confirmed sacroiliitis who underwent CT-guided intra-articular SIJ injection between February 2020 and May 2022. Pain and disability were assessed using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) at baseline and at 1-week, 1-month, and 6-month follow-up intervals. Patients were stratified by etiology (inflammatory vs degenerative), age, and BMI.

All procedures were technically successful and complication-free. Mean NRS scores improved from 6.86 ± 1.20 at baseline to 2.26 ± 0.78 at 6 months (p < 0.001). ODI scores decreased from 37.28 ± 9.84 to 5.68 ± 2.49 (p < 0.001). Greater ODI improvement was observed in inflammatory cases compared to degenerative ones (p < 0.05), though both subgroups showed significant clinical benefit. Age and BMI did not significantly affect outcomes.

CT-guided SIJ injection is a safe and effective intervention for sacroiliitis, yielding sustained pain relief and functional improvement across both inflammatory and degenerative etiologies, independent of age and BMI.