William Jeremy Beckworth

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Interventional spine procedures have seen a steady increase in utilization over the last 10 to 20 years. In 2010, the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for facet injections were bundled with image guidance (fluoroscopic or computed tomography) and limited billing to a maximum of three levels. This was done in part because of increased utilization and to ensure that procedures were done appropriately with image guidance.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to evaluate if ...

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the prevalence of an anomalous posterior vertebral artery (VA) in the neural foramen and to see if any factors might correlate with proximity of the VA to needle location in a cervical transforaminal epidural steroid injection (CTFESI).

METHODS: A radiologist with subspecialty training in neuroradiology documented VA location in relation to the neural foramen on axial views of 198 consecutive computed tomography angiograms done for various reasons, 11 were excluded ...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT PURPOSE: Evaluate the safety and efficacy of a single intradiscal injection of STRO-3+ adult allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cells (MPCs) combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) in subjects with chronic low back pain (CLBP) associated with degenerative disc disease (DDD) through 36-month follow-up.

STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: A multicenter, randomized, controlled study conducted at 13 clinical sites (12 in the United States and 1 in Australia).

SUBJECT SAMPLE: A total of 100 ...

Lumbar stenosis is a common radiographic finding that sometimes can be symptomatic. It usually results from a degenerative process of hypertrophic facets, ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, and disc involvement. A prominence of fat in the epidural space, epidural lipomatosis, can also be a contributing factor. This case report presents a 55-year-old man with radiographic improvement of epidural lipomatosis and stenosis from dietary weight loss. Given the rising obesity epidemic, ...

OBJECTIVE: Prospectively evaluate the clinical outcomes of acute cervical radiculopathy with respect to soft disc herniations vs osteophytes.

METHODS: Sixty consecutive patients who had had cervical radiculopathy for ≤1 month were enrolled in the study. Inclusion criteria were radicular pain greater than axial pain and a pain score ≥4 out of 10 on a numerical rating scale. Patients had at least one positive clinical finding: motor, sensory, or reflex changes. Plain films and magnetic ...

BACKGROUND: Iodinated contrast media (ICM) allergy labels pose a unique clinical problem for the interventional pain physician due to the drawbacks of gadolinium for enhancement during pain procedures, as well as the reluctance to add to the cumulative steroid burden with steroid premedication. However, the risks of ICM hypersensitivity specific to this setting have not been previously described.

METHODS: We aimed to describe the incidence of ICM-induced hypersensitivity during the ...

BACKGROUND: The intervertebral disk is the largest avascular structure in the body. It relies on passive diffusion from arteries at the periphery of the disk for nutrition. Previous studies have suggested a correlation between vascular disease and lumbar degenerative disk disease (DDD), but the association with facet arthritis and stenosis has not been evaluated.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the degree of lumbar artery stenosis, aortic atherosclerosis on computed tomography angiography, and ...