RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Zygapophyseal joints are the origin of pain in up to 30% of those with unspecific chronic low back pain. Until recently, no reliable clinical tests have been found to identify the patients who would benefit from denervation of the zygapophyseal joints by medial branch blockades. DESIGN: We performed a prospective randomized placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the value of high-resolution single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) of the lumbar spine prior to any diagnostic infiltration of the medial branches. METHODS: Patients with suspected zygapophyseal joint-related pain were included in the study. After obtaining a SPECT/CT scan of the lumbar spine a set of infiltrations of the medial branches was done with local anesthetics and placebo on different days. Patients and anesthetists were blinded to the results of SPECT/CT and to the infiltrated agents. RESULTS: In a total of 29 study patients, 7 had positive and 22 negative infiltration tests, and 9 had positive and 20 negative SPECT/CT findings. Sensitivity of SPECT/CT for a positive response after diagnostic infiltration was 0.57 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.18-0.90); specificity was 0.77 (CI 95% 0.55-0.92); odds ratio was 4.53 (CI 95% 0.75-27.40); and diagnostic accuracy was 0.72. CONCLUSION: Compared with diagnostic infiltrations SPECT/CT scans showed only a moderate sensitivity and specificity and, therefore, may not be recommended as a first line diagnostic tool prior to diagnostic infiltrations.