• Joon Woo Lee, Seung Woo Choi, Sung Hee Park, Guen Young Lee, and Heung Sik Kang.
• Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 300 Gumidong, Bundag-Gu, Seong Nam, Gyeongi-Do, 463-707, Korea.
• Eur Radiol. 2013 Jan 1;23(1):205-11.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the MR-based outcome predictors of lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injection (ESI) for lumbar radiculopathy caused by herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD).MethodsA total of 149 patients (male/female 75:74; mean age 51.5 years) with the very worst (87 patients) or the very best outcome (62 patients) after ESI were enrolled in this study. They were selected from 1,881 patients who underwent lumbar transforaminal ESI for lumbar radiculopathy caused by HIVD from January 2007 to December 2008. Two radiologists reviewed MR in consensus. Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to evaluate the difference between the two groups.ResultsHIVD in the foraminal-extraforaminal zone were significantly more common in the very best outcome group (16/24, 66.6 %) than HIVD in the central-subarticular zone (46/125, 36.8 %) (P = 0.012). Other factors such as HIVD zone, T2-high signal, relation to nerve root, corner change, Modic change, disc height loss, grade of disc degeneration, and osteophyte were not statistically significant.ConclusionHIVD in the foraminal or extraforaminal zone is the only good MR-based outcome predictor of lumbar transforamial ESI for lumbar radiculopathy.

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