Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19126368›Full record

ReviewCurrent pain and headache reports2009

Epidural steroid injections are useful for the treatment of low back pain and radicular symptoms: pro.

Jai Sethee, James P Rathmell

Abstract readComparative StudyReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Current pain and headache reports, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jai SetheeMGH Center for Pain Medicine, 15 Parkman Street, WACC 333, Boston, MA 02116, USA.
James P Rathmell
Center for Pain and the Brain · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Epidural steroid injection has been used to treat low back pain for many decades. Numerous randomized trials have examined the efficacy of this approach. This review details the findings of older systematic reviews, newer randomized controlled trials, and two recent systematic reviews that examine the effectiveness of this treatment. Collectively, studies in acute radicular pain due to herniated nucleus pulposus have failed to show that epidural steroid injection reduces long-term pain or obviates the need for surgery. Similarly, there is scant evidence that epidural steroids have any beneficial effect in those with acute low back pain without leg pain or in those with chronic low back or leg pain. However, most studies have demonstrated more rapid resolution of leg pain in those who received epidural steroid injections versus those who did not. The role of epidural steroid injections in the management of acute radicular pain due to herniated nucleus pulposus is simply to provide earlier pain relief.

Indexed as

AnimalsHumansInjections, EpiduralLow Back PainRadiculopathyRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSteroidsTreatment OutcomeSteroids

Identifiers

PMID19126368
OpenAlexW2024286633

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.