title: Is epidural steroid injection effective for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis?
abstract: There are several nonsurgical alternatives to treat radicular pain in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. Epidural steroid injections have been used for several decades, but the different studies have shown variable effects. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified nine systematic reviews including seven pertinent randomized controlled trials. We concluded epidural steroid injection probably leads to little or no effect on reducing radicular pain of spinal stenosis.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile; Departamento de Traumatología y Ortopedia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago de Chile. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile. Email: mmolinas@med.puc.cl.
authors.forename: Sebastián
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Traumatología y Ortopedia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago de Chile.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molina
mesh_terms: D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007268:Injections, Epidural; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids