Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36079057›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2022

Intravenous Corticosteroid Therapy for Acute Lumbar Radicular Pain.

Oded Hershkovich, Yaakov Mor, Raphael Lotan

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 24% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Oded HershkovichDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Wolfson Medical Center, Ha-Lokhamim St. 62, Holon 5822012, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-2975-9152
Yaakov MorDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Wolfson Medical Center, Ha-Lokhamim St. 62, Holon 5822012, Israel.
Raphael LotanDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Wolfson Medical Center, Ha-Lokhamim St. 62, Holon 5822012, Israel.
Tel Aviv University · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe efficacy of pharmacological interventions for acute lumbar radicular pain (ALRP) is limited, and systemic steroid use remains controversial. We evaluated the effectiveness and tolerance of systemic steroid use in a cohort of patients with ALRP.

methodsA retrospective cohort of 56 patients (including 24 females) were admitted with intractable ALRP resistance to conservative treatment of NSAIDs and opiates between the years 2016 and 2018. Medical records were studied for demographics, physical examination findings, Visual Analogue Score (VAS), IV steroids side effects, and recent imaging findings. All patients received a daily dose of IV 24 mg Dexamethasone until discharge, SNRB, or surgery.

resultsThe average IV steroid treatment was 3.9 (±2.8) days, with most patients showing significant pain relief allowing discharge (69.7%). SNRB was required in 19.6% and surgical intervention in 10.7% within the same admission. Multivariate analysis did not find any parameter to predict treatment failure (age, gender, motor/sensory deficit, CT/MRI findings). The motor deficit, positive straight leg raising (SLR), and dural sac compression on CT were higher in the intervention group but did not reach statistical significance. One patient required discontinuation of IV steroids due to elevated blood pressure.

conclusionsDespite the insufficient evidence in the literature, IV steroid treatment is still a viable option in ALRP treatment, with pain relief allowing discharge in 70% of patients and a low complication rate. Our study found daily 24 mg IV dexamethasone for ALRP to be an effective treatment and helpful in most patients admitted. This study supports the common practice used by spine units.

Indexed as

herniated discpharmacotherapyradiculopathysciaticasteroid treatment

Identifiers

PMID36079057
PMCPMC9457254
OpenAlexW4294307663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.