BACKGROUND: Cervical radicular pain is a major cause of disability. No studies have been published comparing different types of nonsurgical therapy. METHODS: A comparative-effectiveness study was performed in 169 @entity1 with cervical radicular pain less than 4 yr in duration. @entity1 received @entity5080 and/or @entity2682 plus physical therapies, up to three cervical epidural @entity479 injections (ESI) or combination treatment over 6 months. The primary outcome measure was average arm @entity158 on a 0 to 10 scale at 1 month. RESULTS: One-month arm @entity158 scores were 3.5 (95% CI, 2.8 to 4.2) in the combination group, 4.2 (CI, 2.8 to 4.2) in ESI @entity1 , and 4.3 (CI, 2.8 to 4.2) in individuals treated conservatively (P = 0.26). Combination group @entity1 experienced a mean reduction of -3.1 (95% CI, -3.8 to -2.3) in average arm @entity158 at 1 month versus -1.8 (CI, -2.5 to -1.2) in the conservative group and -2.0 (CI, -2.7 to -1.3) in ESI @entity1 (P = 0.035). For @entity4048 , a mean reduction of -2.2 (95% CI, -3.0 to -1.5) was noted in combination @entity1 versus -1.2 (CI, -1.9 to -0.5) in conservative group @entity1 and -1.1 (CI, -1.8 to -0.4) in those who received ESI; P = 0.064). Three-month posttreatment, 56.9% of @entity1 treated with combination therapy experienced a positive outcome versus 26.8% in the conservative group and 36.7% in ESI @entity1 (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: For the primary outcome measure, no significant differences were found between treatments, although combination therapy provided better improvement than stand-alone treatment on some measures. Whereas these results suggest an @entity4048 may improve outcomes, confirmatory studies are needed.

Epidural XXXX injections, conservative treatment, or combination treatment for cervical radicular pain: a multicenter, randomized, comparative-effectiveness study.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'Participants'] @entity2682 :: ('MESH:C040029', 'Chemical') :: ['gabapentin'] @entity5080 :: ('MESH:D009661', 'Chemical') :: ['nortriptyline'] @entity4048 :: ('MESH:D019547', 'Disease') :: ['neck pain', 'interdisciplinary approach to neck pain'] @entity158 :: ('MESH:D010146', 'Disease') :: ['pain'] @entity479 :: ('D013256', 'Chemical') :: ['steroid']
@entity479 :: (D013256,Chemical) :: ['steroid']
