Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine (RAPM) has introduced “RAPM Focus,” a monthly podcast devoted to exploring the provocative and impactful aspects of the research published in the journal. In this new podcast, authors are joined by RAPM Editor-in-Chief Dr. Brian Sites and other members of the RAPM Editorial Board to discuss and debate the findings that matter most for clinicians, patients, and policy makers.

In the first episode of RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, interviews Steven P. Cohen, MD, first author of the paper “Multicenter study evaluating factors associated with treatment outcome for low back pain injections.” This prospective study looked at 346 patients receiving one of three procedures: epidural steroid injection for sciatica, sacroiliac joint injections for axial low back pain, and facet interventions for axial low back pain.

The study was designed to evaluate associations among more than two dozen demographic, clinical, and technical factors on treatment outcomes. Results found that patients with lower baseline pain scores, depressive symptomatology, and obesity experienced smaller pain reductions. Smoking and sleep deprivation were also associated with poorer outcomes.

More episodes are on the way, and the podcast will be available for subscribing soon, so be sure to stay tuned.