Mathematical validation and credibility of diagnostic blocks for spinal pain

Title: Mathematical validation and credibility of diagnostic blocks for spinal pain
Creator: Engel, Andrew J.; Bogduk, Nikolai
Relation: Pain Medicine Vol. 17, Issue 10, p. 1821-1828
Publisher Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnw020
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Resource Type: journal article
Date: 2016
Description: Background: Diagnostic blocks are used in different ways for the diagnosis of spinal pain, but their validity has not been fully evaluated. Methods: Four clinical protocols were analyzed mathematically to determine the probability of correct responses arising by chance. The complement of this probability was adopted as a measure of the credibility of correct responses. Results: The credibility of responses varied from 50% to 95%, and was determined less by the agents used but more by what information was given to patients and if the agents were fully randomized for each block. Conclusions: Randomized, comparative local anesthetic blocks offer a credibility of 75%, but randomized, placebo-controlled blocks provide a credibility of 95%, and are thereby suitable as a criterion standard for diagnostic blocks.
Subject: spine; pain; diagnostic blocks; validity
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1346325
Identifier: uon:29838
Identifier: ISSN:1526-2375
Language: eng
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