Piriformis syndrome: pain response outcomes following CT-guided injection and incremental value of botulinum toxin injection
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Musculoskeletal Imaging - Original Article
P: 126-133
January 2021

Piriformis syndrome: pain response outcomes following CT-guided injection and incremental value of botulinum toxin injection

Diagn Interv Radiol 2021;27(1):126-133
1. Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
2. Department of Orthopedics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
No information available.
No information available
Received Date: 09.09.2019
Accepted Date: 31.03.2020
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ABSTRACT

PURPOSE

Piriformis syndrome is a common pain condition affecting the buttock and posterior hip with or without radiation to the leg, and management of the condition involves many treatments. In this study, we hypothesize that a CT-guided injection with botulinum toxin is more effective in providing pain relief than a CT-guided injection without Botox.

METHODS

Overall, 97 consecutive patients with piriformis syndrome presented for a CT-guided injection of the piriformis muscle and perineural injection of the sciatic nerve. After the injection, the patients received a visual analog scale pain log to record their pain level until the follow-up appointment. P values of less than 0.2 were considered as confounder and adjusted by inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) via propensity score. The effect of botulinum toxin on 48-hour response and duration of response was tested using weighted chi-square test and weighted Kaplan-Meier analysis.

RESULTS

There was a total of 97 patients in the study, and 111 injections, as some patients had bilateral injections. Patients in the Botox group had more 48-hour response than patients in the non-botulinum toxin group (P < 0.001 with IPTW, P = 0.005 without IPTW). Median pain-free survival was 30 days for Botox group and 1 day for non-Botox group (P = 0.059 with IPTW, P = 0.10 without IPTW).

CONCLUSION

CT-guided injections with botulinum toxin for patients with piriformis syndrome are more likely to lead to a positive response and a longer duration of response than patients who receive a CT-guided injection without botulinum toxin. We hope that this study facilitates future prospective randomized blind trials for patients with suspected piriformis syndrome.