The role and the effects of the ozone paravertebral injections, in lumbar disc herniation patients.

Abstract

The results obtained from a group of patients suffering from discoradicular conflict syndrome treated with paravertebral oxygen-ozone injections were analyzed. From a total number of 8500 patients treated with ozone during the period 2002/2015, 880 patients underwent intradiscal injection and 7620 patients were treated with paravertebral ozone injections. This paper analyses a subgroup of 1850 patients (24.28% of the patients who were treated with paravertebral injections), including those patients who underwent the total 10-session treatment, complied with a 5-year follow-up and with the sample homogeneity parameters following a predictability therapeutic effectiveness (PET) index devised for such purpose (PET index O3) by us in 2009. The outcomes were assessed based on the VAS score and modified Mac Nab criteria. Definite results determined positive post-treatment outcomes considered excellent and good in 81% of the cases. Such effectiveness percentage resulted lower than the one achieved with the intradiscal injection technique (89%), and higher than the percentage seen in papers on the selective nerve root block technique.