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Wiley InterScience | |||||||||||||
  Pain PracticeVolume 3 Issue 3, Pages 222 - 225 Published Online: 1 Dec 2003 Journal compilation © 2010 World Institute of Pain Published on behalf of the World Institute of Pain
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 56K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking  ORIGINAL ARTICLE Comparison of Epidural Depo-Medrol vs. Aqueous Betamethasone in Patients with Low Back Pain Copyright 2003 World Institute of Pain KEYWORDS epidural steroid injection • interlaminer epidural • chronic low back pain • corticosteroids • intraspinal steroid injection • epidural methyprednisolone • epidural betamethasone Abstract:
Abstract: Despite the popularity of epidural steroid injections for low back pain, there still remains a lack of consensus on which type of steroid to inject. Most comparison studies regarding epidural steroids are based on an assumption that different types of steroids are equal as long as equipotent doses are utilized. In the spring of 2002, a national shortage of all depo steroids allowed the authors to compare epidural methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol) to a non depo form of betamethasone in patients with low back pain. Patients who received epidural methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol) reported significant reduction in pain ratings as well as disability scores after 4 weeks, while patients receiving betamethasone showed no significant difference in pain or disability scores. This study shows that the aqueous steroid betamethasone is not an effective alternative to the commonly used depo-steroid methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol) when injected epidurally in patients with lumbar pain. The study also shows that the anti-inflammatory effect of a depo-steroid can be greater than a non-depo steroid, even at equipotent doses. This should be an important factor to consider when reviewing epidural steroid outcome studies, where the type of steroid might affect results as much as other variables such as route of administration, volume of injectate, or use of fluoroscopy. | 
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