A Randomized Controlled Trial of Fluoroscopically-Guided Sacroiliac Joint Injections: A Comparison of the Posteroanterior and Classical Oblique Techniques

29 patients with sacroiliac joint pain were randomized to receive a fluoroscopy-guided sacroiliac injection with bupivacaine hydrochloride and methylprednisolone, performed via a posteroanterior or oblique approach. Outcomes of interest included procedure time, needling time, fluoroscopy time, and pain on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Time-related outcomes were measured during treatment, and VAS pain was measured up to 30 minutes post-injection. Study findings revealed significantly favourable procedural time and needling time in the posteroanterior group compared to the oblique group. Mean fluoroscopy time was not significantly different, however median fluoroscopy time was significantly lower in the posteroanterior group. VAS pain was significantly lower in the oblique group compared to the posteroanterior group at 5 minutes, but was not significantly different between groups at 10, 15 or 30 minutes post-injection.