Severity of spinal degeneration does not affect the pain reduction under continuous epidural analgesia

Purpose To outline clinical effectiveness of continuous epidural analgesia (CEA) in patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) or lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) depending on severity of spinal degeneration. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, all patients with FBSS or LSS who underwent CEA within an inpatient rehabilitation program were evaluated. The pain reduction was measured by VAS on an hourly basis. Substantial pain reduction was defined as a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) > 50%. Severity of spinal degeneration, side effects and patient-specific characteristics were documented. Result We included a total of 148 patients with 105 patients suffering from FBSS and 48 with LSS. The average pain reduction was − 37.6 ± 19.2 in FBSS and − 38.1 ± 17.8 in LSS group ( p