Clinical Efficacy of Scalene Injection for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Abstract

Purpose: We introduce the novel treatment technique, scalene injection, and study its clinical efficacy for diagnosis, treatment, and pain control for patients with thoracic outlet syndrome.Methods: Between November 2001 and October 2018, 266 patients were studied retrospectively. To evaluate the efficacy and sustainability, we checked the numerical rating scale (NRS) for pain relief and neck disability index (NDI) for functional improvements, prior to and 1, 12 weeks after the injection. The safety was evaluated by examining side effects for at least 24 hours from the point of injection.Results: NRS was improved from 7.12 to 3.11 at 1 week, and to 3.05 at 12 weeks (p<0.05). NDI was improved from 15.87 to 6.15 at 1 week, and to 6.19 at 12 weeks (p<0.05). There were two cases of convulsion immediately after the injection and were treated with prompt oxygen supply and sedatives. Transient side effects included two cases of dyspnea and one case of nausea and were resolved within 1 hour after. All five cases showed symptoms of side effects on the day of injection and were resolved within a day. A total of 242 patients (91.0%) experienced immediate declines in NRS and 161 patients experienced persistent declines for more than 12 weeks. However, 24 patients (9.0%) showed no improvement and 20 patients (7.5%) experienced increases in NRS.Conclusion: Scalene injection is also effective as a therapeutic method. However, this study suggests that it must be done with monitoring of vital signs in an operating room for any possible complications and side effects.