Epidural steroid injection in korean pain physicians: a national survey.
BACKGROUND
Epidural steroid injection (ESI) is one of the most common procedures for patients presenting low back pain and radiculopathy. However, there is no clear consensus on what constitutes appropriate steroid use for ESIs. To investigate optimal steroid injection methods for ESIs, surveys were sent to all academic pain centers and selected private practices in Korea via e-mail.


METHODS
Among 173 pain centers which requested the public health insurance reimbursements for their ESIs and were enrolled in the Korean Pain Society, 122 completed questionnaires were returned, for a rate of 70.5%; also returned were surveys from 39 academic programs and 85 private practices with response rates of 83.0% and 65.9%, respectively.


RESULTS
More than half (55%) of Korean pain physicians used dexamethasone for ESIs. The minimum interval of subsequent ESIs at the academic institutions (3.1 weeks) and the private practices (2.1 weeks) were statistically different (P = 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Although there was a wide range of variation, there were no significant differences between the academic institutions and the private practices in terms of the types and single doses of steroids for ESIs, the annual dose of steroids, or the limitations of doses in the event of diabetes, with the exception of the minimum interval before the subsequent ESI.
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Eun Jung
EJ
Kim
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Jee Youn
JY
Moon
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Keun Suk
KS
Park
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Da Hye
da H
Yoo
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Yong Chul
YC
Kim
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Woo Seog
WS
Sim
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Zein Pain Treatment Clinic, Seoul, Korea.
Chul Joong
CJ
Lee
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Chung Ang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Hwa Yong
HY
Shin
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Konkuk University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Jae Hun
JH
Kim
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, Korea.
Yeon Dong
YD
Kim
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Se Jin
SJ
Lee
dexamethasone; dose; epidural; radiculopathy; spinal pain; steroid; survey; triamcinolone