Ultrasound-Guided Intervention in Thoracic Spine / 대한정형외과학회잡지

ABSTRACT

Even though thoracic spinal pain may be less common than low back and neck pain, the prevalence of thoracic pain in the general population is 13% to 15% in the literature and it can be as disabling as lumbar or cervical pain. Although thoracic interventions have been reported to be effective, it is rarely performed due to concerns of creating iatrogenic pneumothorax. Fluoroscopy-guided interventions are more accurate procedures than blind technique but still cannot prevent pneumothorax. In recent reports in the literature, use of ultrasound-guided interventions minimized the risk of pneumothorax and vascular puncture because ultrasound can visualize lung with pleura and also detect vascular structures by Doppler scan. Compared with fluoroscopy, ultrasound imaging has no known contraindications, produces no ionizing radiation, enables direct visualization of neurovascular and soft tissue structures, and provides real-time visualization of needle passage toward the intended target. We therefore conducted a review to investigate the feasibility of performing thoracic interventions under real-time ultrasound guidance.