ArticleSurgical neurology international2015
Comparison of the efficacy of saline, local anesthetics, and steroids in epidural and facet joint injections for the management of spinal pain: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Article in Surgical neurology international, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of epidural steroid injections for low back pain in older adults: a systematic review.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical Efficacy of Epidural Injections of Local Anesthetic Alone or Combined with Steroid for Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.BioMed research international · 2022Pooled it
- Epidural steroid compared to placebo injection in sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2021Pooled it
- Does Epidural Bupivacaine with or Without Steroids Provide Long-Term Relief? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Current pain and headache reports · 2020Pooled it
- Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression and Interspinous Process Device for the Management of Symptomatic Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: a Literature Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2020Pooled it
- Cost Utility Analysis of Cervical Therapeutic Medial Branch Blocks in Managing Chronic Neck Pain.International journal of medical sciences · 2017Trial
- Brake time responses post therapeutic caudal epidural steroid Marcaine injections undertaken to treat low back pain with lumbar radiculopathy.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Fluoroscopy-guided Caudal Epidural Steroid Injection and Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection for Unilateral L5-S1 Paracentral Discogenic Radicular Pain.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2025Article
- Dexmedetomidine versus hyaluronidase along with lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injection in failed back surgery: a randomized double-blind clinical trial.Anesthesia and pain medicine · 2025Article
- Discogenic Low Back Pain: Anatomic and Pathophysiologic Characterization, Clinical Evaluation, Biomarkers, AI, and Treatment Options.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Individuals With Prior Chronic Pain and Long-Term Opioid Treatment May Experience Persistence of That Pain Even After Subsequent Complete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Suggestions From a Prospective Case-Controlled Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2024Article
- Acute back pain - Role of injection techniques and surgery: WFNS spine committee recommendations.World neurosurgery: X · 2024Review
- Article
- Ultrasound-guided axial facet joint interventions for chronic spinal pain: A narrative review.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2023Review
- Assessing the impact of adding bupivacaine on immediate and delayed post-procedure pain scores in interlaminar epidural steroid injections.Skeletal radiology · 2022Article
- Epidural Steroid Injections for Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Conservative Treatment and Percutaneous Pain Relief Techniques in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations.World neurosurgery: X · 2020Article
- Particulate steroids in axial spinal blockade and the increasing role of patient consent:British journal of pain · 2020Article
- Utilization of Vertebral Augmentation Procedures in the USA: a Comparative Analysis in Medicare Fee-for-Service Population Pre- and Post-2009 Trials.Current pain and headache reports · 2020Review
- Evaluation of Cost-Utility of Thoracic Interlaminar Epidural Injections.Current pain and headache reports · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 11 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe efficacy of epidural and facet joint injections has been assessed utilizing multiple solutions including saline, local anesthetic, steroids, and others. The responses to these various solutions have been variable and have not been systematically assessed with long-term follow-ups.
methodsRandomized trials utilizing a true active control design were included. The primary outcome measure was pain relief and the secondary outcome measure was functional improvement. The quality of each individual article was assessed by Cochrane review criteria, as well as the criteria developed by the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) for assessing interventional techniques. An evidence analysis was conducted based on the qualitative level of evidence (Level I to IV).
resultsA total of 31 trials met the inclusion criteria. There was Level I evidence that local anesthetic with steroids was effective in managing chronic spinal pain based on multiple high-quality randomized controlled trials. The evidence also showed that local anesthetic with steroids and local anesthetic alone were equally effective except in disc herniation, where the superiority of local anesthetic with steroids was demonstrated over local anesthetic alone.
conclusionThis systematic review showed equal efficacy for local anesthetic with steroids and local anesthetic alone in multiple spinal conditions except for disc herniation where the superiority of local anesthetic with steroids was seen over local anesthetic alone.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.