Is immediate pain relief after a spinal injection procedure enhanced by intravenous sedation?

Objective: To determine the effect of intravenous sedation on postprocedural pain relief for patients undergoing a spinal injection procedure in which there is no expectation of immediate relief.

Design: A prospective audit to compare Visual Analog Scale (VAS) responses before and after interlaminar epidural corticosteroid injections without epidural anesthetic in those who did and did not receive intravenous sedation.

Setting: This audit was undertaken in 2 interventional spine practices.