Success of the pain relief drug injections in management of the bertolloti syndrome: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Introduction: Low back pain accompanied by the lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV) is called the Bertolotti syndrome. This report discussed a case treated with combined corticosteroid and local anesthetic injections based on the literature. Case report: A 35-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital suffering from low back pain. On neurological exam, her left sacroiliac joint was painful on palpation. Her muscle strength was full, but the left patella reflex was hypoactive. X-ray images revealed “Castellvi Type IIa” LSTV on the left side; therefore, it was considered that the patient might have Bertolotti Syndrome. Because şhedid not accept surgical intervention, “betamethasone dipropionate+betamethasone sodium” and “bupivacaine hydrochloride” were injected into her bilateral sacroiliac joints, bilateral L3-4, and L4-5 facets, and left LSVT joint under fluoroscopy. Her low back pain vanished immediately after the procedure, and she was discharged from the hospital with a full recovery. With an interval of about six months, she was hospitalized 5 more times with complaints of recurrent low back pain, and at each hospitalization, "local anesthetic" (LA) alone or "local anesthetic+corticosteroid" (LA+S) combination was injected into the primary trigger zones. During long-term follow-up, she continued his daily life without any problems. Discussion: This case report showed that sequential LA and LA+S administrations could be curative for patients with Bertolotti syndrome who do not accept surgical treatment, or who cannot undergo surgical intervention. Thus, it was concluded that it would be beneficial to conduct studies with larger samples to obtain more precise information about this method.