title: Generalized pruritus as an unusual side effect after epidural injection with dexamethasone.
abstract: A 51-year-old man with lumbar radiculopathy underwent a right L5 transforaminal epidural steroid injection with dexamethasone. One minute after the injection, the patient experienced severe pruritus and burning, which began in the groin and then spread throughout his body. The symptoms resolved completely after 1 minute, and the patient was discharged without any complications. Although there are a small number of publications reporting perineal pruritus after intravenous administration of dexamethasone, to our knowledge there is no report of a generalized reaction to an epidural dexamethasone injection such as the one described here.
authors.affiliation: Newton Wellesley Interventional Spine LLC, Wellesley, MA∗
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: El Abd
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of São Paulo, School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil(†). Electronic address: daniel.fisiatria@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Daniel Camargo
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of São Paulo, School of Medicine, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 455 - Cerqueira César - CEP: 01246-000, São Paulo, SP - Brazil(‡).
authors.forename: João Eduardo Daud
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Amadera
mesh_terms: D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007268:Injections, Epidural; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011537:Pruritus / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone