PMC10357441_01
A flow diagram showing patient enrollment, data collection, and data analysis of the study. IDB: intradiscal biacuplasty; DDD: degenerative disc disease; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; VAS: visual analogue scale; ODI: Oswestry disability index; NSAIDs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; BMI: body mass index; HIZ: high intensity zone.
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F1
Figure 1 shows the detailed protocol for the patients' inclusion, exclusion, and data mining.
Long-term follow-up of pain/functional scales and drug consumption. The chart showing the estimated VAS (a) and ODI (b) from last post-operative record (baseline) to that of one-year follow-up. (c) Improvement of both scales was determined by the records of baseline and 6-month follow-up. (d) The consumption of NSAIDs. All data are presented as mean +- SD. VAS: visual analogue scale; ODI: Oswestry disability index; NSAIDs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
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F2
Significant improvement was found on both VAS and ODI in response to IDB treatment (P < 0.001, Figure 2). The use of NSAIDs was also significantly reduced at 3 and 6 months (P < 0.05, Figure 2d).
Analysis of the influences of different types of disc herniation on estimated pain/functional outcomes after IDB treatment. The mean 6-month improvements of (a) VAS and (b) ODI from each group were determined. The characteristics of disc herniation were classified into three groups, including two types of contained discs (within the annulus and up to the outer layer of the annulus) and extruded discs. VAS: visual analogue scale; ODI: Oswestry disability index.
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F3
Furthermore, we analyzed the improvement of pain and functional scales in detail characteristics based on the degree of extension of the herniated discs (Figure 3).