Image-Guided Spinal Steroid Injections.

This paper has been written to stimulate the radiologist to consider the various aspects of spinal steroid injections as therapeutic procedures. Special emphasis is placed on needle guidance, asepsis, and possible problems involved. It constitutes a highly practical and variously illustrated and informative guide for the choice of steroids and various spinal joint approaches. It details the following target areas: lumbar facet joints, cervical facet joints, costovertebral joints, C1-C2 joint, intervertebral discs, epidural space, and interspinous bursa. Safety is the key element of the above-mentioned techniques. The radiologist must pay special attention to the omnipresent risk of iatrogenic infection.