title: Epidural Steroid Injections are Safe and Effective: Multisociety Letter in Support of the Safety and Effectiveness of Epidural Steroid Injections.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In April 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Drug Safety Communication requesting that corticosteroid labeling include warnings that injection of corticosteroids into the epidural space of the spine may result in rare but serious adverse events, including loss of vision, stroke, paralysis, and death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The International Spine Intervention Society spearheaded a collaboration of more than a dozen other medical societies in submitting the letter below to the FDA on November 7, 2014. We are publishing the letter to ensure that the readership of Pain Medicine is aware of the multisociety support for the safety and effectiveness of these procedures. A special note of thanks to all of the societies who signed on in support of the message.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Stanford University Redwood City, CA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain Management, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosenquist
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Virtaj
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Clark
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Milan P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Stojanovic
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anesthesiology and Neurology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Yakov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vorobeychik
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007268:Injections, Epidural / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones
keywords: Effectiveness; Epidural; Injection; Safety; Steroid