The effectiveness of condoliase therapy for lumbar disc herniation

• Published in: Journal of Spine Research Vol. 15; no. 6; pp. 901 - 906
• Main Authors: Ide, Koichiro, Yamada, Tomohiro, Arima, Hideyuki, Banno, Tomohiro, Kurosu, Kenta, Yamato, Yu, Watanabe, Yuh, Hasegawa, Tomohiko, Oe, Shin, Matsuyama, Yukihiro, Yoshida, Go
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for Spine Surgery and Related Research 20.06.2024; 一般社団法人 日本脊椎脊髄病学会
• Subjects: chemonucleolysis; condoliase; lumbar disc herniation; コンドリアーゼ; 化学的髄核融解術; 腰椎椎間板ヘルニア
• ISSN: 1884-7137; 2435-1563
• DOI: 10.34371/jspineres.2024-0614

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of significantly effective cases, where pain almost disappeared, and the associated factors in condoliase therapy for lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods: We enrolled 93 cases (61 males, 32 females, average age 45.6 years) that underwent condoliase therapy for LDH with minimally follow-up of 1 year. Clinical evaluations, including Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for back pain and leg pain, and imaging assessments using MRI were conducted before and 1 year after the treatment. Cases with leg pain VAS≤1 cm at 1 year were considered significantly effective and were compared with non-significantly effective cases. Additionally, multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors.Results: Surgical treatment was subsequently required in 13 (14.0%) patients, and significantly effective in 49 (52.7%) patients. The rate of females and history of discectomy at the same level were significantly higher in non-significantly effective cases. Moreover, the symptom duration was significantly longer. Multivariate analysis identified symptom duration as independent associated factors.Conclusions: Chemonucleolysis with condoliase was significantly effective in 52.7% of cases. Significant therapeutic effects can be expected in cases with shorter symptom duration.