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Study Of Disc Anaesthesia For The Preoperative Diagnosis Of Chronic Lower Back Pain

Study Of Disc Anaesthesia For The Preoperative Diagnosis Of Chronic Lower Back Pain

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00443781
Acronym
SODA
Enrollment
62
Registered
2007-03-06
Start date
2007-03-31
Completion date
2009-06-30
Last updated
2021-01-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Low Back Pain

Keywords

low back pain, degenerative disc disease

Brief summary

The primary objective of this study is to document and compare diagnostic test results and procedure safety in subjects undergoing both Functional Anaesthetic DiscographyTM (F.A.D.) and provocative discography (PD) and determine the appropriateness of the F.A.D. procedure data collection script for use in a larger clinical trial.

Interventions

Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.) involves the placement and anchoring of a small catheter into a disc. After placement, functional testing is performed, in which the subject elicits his/her back pain via functional maneuvers or postures. Local anaesthetic is then delivered into the target disc through the catheter and the effect on functional back pain is noted.

Provocative discography (PD) has been used as a preoperative diagnostic tool for patients with back pain attributed to degenerative disc disease considering lumbar disc surgery. During PD, a clinically suspected disc is accessed with a needle and injected under pressure with radiopaque contrast dye. The subject rates his/her experience of pain for intensity and whether the pain is exactly the same as (concordant) or different from (not concordant or discordant) typical back pain.

Sponsors

Medtronic Spine LLC
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age \> 21. * Chronic axial low back pain without radicular pain for \> six months, not responding to at least three months of non-surgical management under the direction of a physician. * One or two discs at L5/S1, L4/L5 or L3/L4 with abnormal findings by MRI, including any of the following: loss of disc hydration, loss of disc height, high intensity zone (HIZ), Modic changes at adjacent vertebral endplates, or herniation without nerve root compression. * Subject states that he/she is willing to undergo lumbar spinal fusion, disc replacement, or other definitive treatment if eventual diagnosis supports such treatment. * Physician believes that discography is clinically indicated for the purpose of surgical decision-making for the subject. * Pre-treatment low back pain by numerical rating scale (NRS) score \> 4 (measured as average in last 24 hours on a 0-10 scale). * Pre-treatment Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) \> 40 (0 - 100 scale). * Subject states availability for all study visits. * Subject is able to understand the risks and benefits of participating in the study and provides written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

* Known osteoporosis or osteopenia, metabolic bone disorder, or history of chronic steroid use (the equivalent of 7.5 milligrams of daily prednisone use for \> 6 months). * Suspected painful disc degeneration (based on clinical examination and MRI findings) outside of L5/S1, L4/L5 or L3/L4 levels. * MRI shows disc abnormalities (listed in Inclusion Criteria #3) at all 3 lower lumbar discs (L3/L4, L4/L5 and L5/S1). * Abnormal neurologic exam attributable to lumbar disc disease, herniation, or lumbar stenosis. * Back, buttock or pelvic pain suspected to be due to spinal stenosis, spinal fractures, infection, cancer, facet arthropathy or other hip or pelvis pathology. * Schmorl's node or endplate disruption evident on MRI at L5/S1, L4/L5, or L3/L4. * Medical history, physical examination or radiographic evidence (e.g., disc height too narrow) to suggest that either PD or F.A.D. may not be technically feasible. * Any previous lumbar spine fusion or disc replacement. * More than grade 1 spondylolisthesis as assessed by x-ray or MRI. * Significant clinical comorbidity that may potentially interfere with data collection or follow-up (e.g., dementia, severe comorbid illness). * History of major depression, psychosis or somatization disorder, or panic disorder. * Allergy to any materials used in PD or F.A.D. devices, contrast, lidocaine, or bupivacaine. * Any evidence of disc or systemic infection. * Pregnant or child-bearing potential and not currently on adequate birth control method.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Difference in Number of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Positive Discs Diagnosed Positive by Provocative Discography (PD) and Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.)Approximately 2 hours per subjectFor provocative discography (PD), a positive response at an individual disc requires all of the following findings: pain intensity (\>=7/10 on 0-10 Numerical Rating Scale, NRS) as rated by subjects on injecting contrast into a disc; concordancy (pain reproduces typical back pain exactly). For Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.), a positive test at an individual disc level is defined as improvement in self-rated pain of \>=2 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) points AND \>33% on 0-10 Numerical Rating Scale 10 minutes after injection of lidocaine.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
PD and F.A.D. Diagnostic Testing
Subjects with chronic axial low back pain with suspected degenerative disc disease underwent provocative discography(PD)followed by Functional Anaesthetic Discography (F.A.D.)as part of a pilot, multicenter, prospective, single-arm diagnostic study.
62
Total62

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000
Overall StudyInsurance not covered2
Overall StudyInvestigator terminated participation1
Overall StudyLost to Follow-up10
Overall StudyPD/FAD not done1
Overall StudyPhysician Decision2
Overall StudyProtocol Violation1
Overall StudyUnable to comply with study follow up2
Overall StudyWithdrawal by Subject6

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPD and F.A.D. Diagnostic Testing
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
1 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
61 Participants
Age, Continuous40.7 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.8
Region of Enrollment
United States
62 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
36 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
26 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
10 / 62
serious
Total, serious adverse events
1 / 62

Outcome results

Primary

Difference in Number of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Positive Discs Diagnosed Positive by Provocative Discography (PD) and Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.)

For provocative discography (PD), a positive response at an individual disc requires all of the following findings: pain intensity (\>=7/10 on 0-10 Numerical Rating Scale, NRS) as rated by subjects on injecting contrast into a disc; concordancy (pain reproduces typical back pain exactly). For Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.), a positive test at an individual disc level is defined as improvement in self-rated pain of \>=2 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) points AND \>33% on 0-10 Numerical Rating Scale 10 minutes after injection of lidocaine.

Time frame: Approximately 2 hours per subject

Population: Subjects which underwent Provocative Discography (PD) and Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.) consist of 1 population (N=50). Subjects which underwent either PD, F.A.D. or neither diagnostic test consist of a second population (all subjects enrolled, N=62). This is a diagnostic study. No imputation technique was used.

ArmMeasureGroupValue (NUMBER)
PD and F.A.D. Diagnostic TestingDifference in Number of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Positive Discs Diagnosed Positive by Provocative Discography (PD) and Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.)PD - Negative and F.A.D. - Negative18 discs
PD and F.A.D. Diagnostic TestingDifference in Number of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Positive Discs Diagnosed Positive by Provocative Discography (PD) and Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.)PD - Negative and F.A.D. - Positive7 discs
PD and F.A.D. Diagnostic TestingDifference in Number of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Positive Discs Diagnosed Positive by Provocative Discography (PD) and Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.)PD - Positive and F.A.D. - Negative25 discs
PD and F.A.D. Diagnostic TestingDifference in Number of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Positive Discs Diagnosed Positive by Provocative Discography (PD) and Functional Anesthetic Discography (F.A.D.)PD - Positive and F.A.D. - Positive16 discs
Comparison: Mcnemar test was used to test the difference between paired PD (provocative discography) and F.A.D. (Functional Anesthetic Discography) proportions.p-value: 0.002McNemar

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026