Provocative Discography 4 5 Irina Melnik , Richard Derby , and Ray M
Provocative Discography 4 5 Irina Melnik , Richard Derby , and Ray M. Baker Key Points • Technical challenges, potential complications, and • Discography is an invasive diagnostic procedure interpretation mistakes can be avoided with proper not intended to be an initial screening examination selection of patients, including favorable psycho- due to associated potential risk to a patient. logical pro fi ling, use of sterile technique, intravenous • It is a con fi rmatory test, which can reveal the true and intradiscal antibiotics, judicious use of sedation, source of pain and thus leads to precise and effec- and good technical training of a practitioner. tive treatment as well as might help patients to avoid • Emerging alternative approaches including anes- unnecessary surgical interventions. thetic discography and functional discography are • The value of the test is not only in providing morpho- gaining attention, as well as noninvasive MRI spec- logic characteristics of the disc structure and degrees troscopy and other imaging tests, as an attempt to of internal annular disc disrupture but also in providing provide similar clinical information without putting unique clinical information by potentially evoking patients at a potential short- or long-term risk. patients typical/concordant pain and con fi rming a speci fi c level of the painful disc. • As a provocative test, discography is liable to false- positive results, which can be potentially avoided Introduction by adherence to strict operational standards and interpretation criteria, including pain ³ 7/10, pres- Discography was introduced in the 1940s to diagnose her- sure <50 psi a.o. , concordant pain, ³ grade 3 annu- niation and internal annular disruption of the lumbar and lar tear, volume £ 3.5 mL, and the presence of a subsequently cervical and thoracic intervertebral discs [ 1, 2 ] .
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