Any procedure comes with some common absolute or relative contraindications. There are always exceptions and special situations, but these are some general guidelines to consider. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a starting point.
Table of Contents
Absolute Contraindications
- Infection
- systemic
- infection overlying the injection site or around the target site
- Pregnancy
- True contrast/Iohexol/omnipaque allergy (if the procedure calls for contrast)
- True and severe reactions are rare [See the American College of Radiology Manual on Contrast Media, Topic 8]
- Gadolinium can be used as an alternative
Relative Contraindications
- Infection
- In the authors’ experience, some localized infections are usually safe for certain types of procedures (e.g., non-steroid injections). E.g., infections at unrelated sites (e.g., small infected cut in the periphery) or localized infection that’s near resolution (e.g., pneumonia that’s improving and at the tailend of antibiotic treatment).
- Comorbidities
- This requires clinical judgement. Generally ensure that chronic problems are stable and are not acutely active.
- Blood sugar
- Higher chronic levels will put a patient at risk of infection. Steroid injections can cause an increase in blood glucose, acutely worsening the problem.
- Blood pressure
- Consider that steroid injections can acutely increase the blood pressure, so a patient with asymptomatic hypertension preop, might develop high enough hypertension post op to develop symptoms or other consequences of the increased blood pressure.
- Coagulation disorders
Blood Thinners
ASRA publishes guidelines that will provide guidance in most situations.
- Details and nuances can be seen in the original article
- The ASRA app is useful for accessing this information in an interactive form
- In clinical practice it’s often helpful to have a simplified/protocolized version. One for pain management procedures is outlined below (See the original Google Doc here to print or copy the protocol)