Effectiveness of intradiscal injection of radiopaque gelified ethanol (DiscoGel®) versus percutaneous laser disc decompression in patients with chronic radicular low back pain

Background: Low back pain secondary to discopathy is a common pain disorder. Multiple minimally invasive therapeutic modalities have been proposed; however, to date no study has compared percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) with intradiscal injection of radiopaque gelified ethanol (DiscoGel (R)). We are introducing the first study on patient-reported outcomes of DiscoGel (R) vs. PLDD for radiculopathy. Methods: Seventy-two patients were randomly selected from either a previous strategy of PLDD or DiscoGel (R), which had been performed in our center during 20162017. Participants were asked about their numeric rating scale (NRS) scores, Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores, and progression to secondary treatment. Results: The mean NRS scores in the total cohort before intervention was 8.0, and was reduced to 4.3 in the DiscoGel (R) group and 4.2 in the PLDD group after 12 months, which was statistically significant. The mean ODI score before intervention was 81.25% which was reduced to 41.14% in the DiscoGel (R) group and 52.86% in the PLDD group after 12 months, which was statistically significant. Between-group comparison of NRS scores after two follow-ups were not statistically different (P = 0.62) but the ODI score in DiscoGel (R) was statistically lower (P = 0.001). Six cases (16.67%) from each group reported undergoing surgery after the follow-up period which was not statistically different. Conclusions: Both techniques were equivalent in pain reduction but DiscoGel (R) had a greater effect on decreasing disability after 12 months, although the rate of progression to secondary treatments and/or surgery was almost equal in the two groups.