Comparison of Adjuvant Hypertonic Saline and Normal Saline for Epidural Block in Patients with Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Double-Blind, Randomized Trial

Table 3

Changes in the estimated insomnia severity index after epidural block with or without hypertonic saline in patients with postherpetic neuralgia.

Variable	Time	Groups		Differences^a	value
		Normal saline (N = 17)	Hypertonic saline (N = 19)
ISI (0–28)	Baseline	14.3 (11.4–17.1)	11.4 (8.7–14.1)	−2.9 (−6.8–1.1)	0.152
	1 month	12.3 (9.4–15.3)	9.6 (6.9–12.3)	−2.7 (−6.7–1.3)	0.188
	3 months	11.5 (8.4–14.5)^b	9.0 (6.1–11.8)^b	−2.5 (−6.6–1.7)	0.238

The insomnia severity index (ISI) was used to assess insomnia. A mixed linear model was used in the statistical analysis. The data are presented as the estimated mean with a 95% confidence interval. The group difference was not significant ( = 0.123). The time effect was significant ( = 0.014). The values of interaction between the group and time were not significant ( = 0.981). ^aEstimated difference in values between groups. ^b < 0.001 compared with the baseline in each group.