Abstract:Objective To investigate the efficacy of selective nerve root block combined with unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) in the treatment of multilevel lumbar degenerative disease with unclear preoperative localization.Methods A total of 116 patients with multilevel degenerative lumbar disease admitted to our department from January 2022 to April 2024 were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups using the random number table method, with 58 cases in each group. The control group was treated with UBE alone, while the observation group received selective nerve root block one day prior to UBE surgery. The operative duration, intraoperative blood loss and fluoroscopy frequency were recorded for all patients. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores were compared between the two groups before surgery and 3 days, 3 months and 12 months after surgery. Radiological parameters including intervertebral space height, intervertebral foramen height, lumbar lordosis (LL) and segmental lordosis (SL) of the fused segments were measured via X-ray. The incidence of adverse events was also documented.Results The observation group showed significantly shorter operative duration, less intraoperative blood loss, and fewer intraoperative fluoroscopy exposures than the control group (all P < 0.05). Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare VAS scores before surgery and 3 days, 3 months and 12 months after surgery, and the results showed that VAS scores differed significantly over time (F = 1,759.385, P < 0.001) and between the two groups (F = 111.492, P < 0.001), with lower scores in the observation group. The change trend of the VAS scores was different between the two groups (F = 17.082, P < 0.001). For the ODI scores, repeated-measures ANOVA showed that they differed significantly over time (F = 1,373.734, P < 0.001) and between groups (F = 237.008, P < 0.001), with lower scores in the observation group. The change trend of the ODI scores was different between the two groups (F = 36.995, P < 0.001). Postoperative intervertebral space height, intervertebral foramen height, LL, and SL were significantly greater in the observation group than in the control group (all P < 0.05). The incidence of complications was significantly lower in the observation group (χ2 = 5.841, P = 0.016).Conclusion Selective nerve root block serves as an effective and accurate method for identifying the responsible intervertebral level, and its combination with UBE can yield favorable clinical outcomes.