Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients
Abstract The natural history of lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy is favorable, with 95% of patients expected to be pain-free within 6 months of onset. Despite the favorable prognosis, operative treatment is often chosen by patients unable to “ride out” the radicular episode. Prospective stu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10659-1 |
| _version_ | 1818047115392188416 |
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| author | Daniel Kovarsky Adi Shani Alon Rod Dan Ciubotaru Nimrod Rahamimov |
| author_facet | Daniel Kovarsky Adi Shani Alon Rod Dan Ciubotaru Nimrod Rahamimov |
| author_sort | Daniel Kovarsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The natural history of lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy is favorable, with 95% of patients expected to be pain-free within 6 months of onset. Despite the favorable prognosis, operative treatment is often chosen by patients unable to “ride out” the radicular episode. Prospective studies comparing surgical with non-surgical treatment have demonstrated similar long-term results. We conducted a retrospective case-series study of patients with a lumbar disc herniation and intractable radicular pain without significant neurological deficits treated with intra-venous dexamethasone. The primary outcome measure was whether the patient had undergone operative treatment within 1 year of receiving the intravenous steroid treatment. 213 patients met our inclusion criteria. 30 were lost to follow-up and 2 had died before completing 1 year of follow-up. Of the remaining 181 patients, 133 (73.48%) had not undergone surgery within 1 year of receiving intra-venous steroid treatment while 48 (26.51%) had undergone surgery. 6 (3.31%) of the patients had undergone surgery more than 1 year of receiving IV steroid treatment. Intravenous steroid treatment in our retrospective series was approximately 30% better at preventing the need for surgery than the reported outcomes of conservative treatment in randomized controlled trials previously published. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:00:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18b38cb1780f423e92941fe084dafd00 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:00:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-18b38cb1780f423e92941fe084dafd002022-12-22T01:53:21ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-04-011211610.1038/s41598-022-10659-1Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patientsDaniel Kovarsky0Adi Shani1Alon Rod2Dan Ciubotaru3Nimrod Rahamimov4Bar-Ilan University Medical SchoolDepartment of Orthopedics B and Spine Surgery, Galilee Medical CenterDepartment of Orthopedics B and Spine Surgery, Galilee Medical CenterDepartment of Orthopedics B and Spine Surgery, Galilee Medical CenterBar-Ilan University Medical SchoolAbstract The natural history of lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy is favorable, with 95% of patients expected to be pain-free within 6 months of onset. Despite the favorable prognosis, operative treatment is often chosen by patients unable to “ride out” the radicular episode. Prospective studies comparing surgical with non-surgical treatment have demonstrated similar long-term results. We conducted a retrospective case-series study of patients with a lumbar disc herniation and intractable radicular pain without significant neurological deficits treated with intra-venous dexamethasone. The primary outcome measure was whether the patient had undergone operative treatment within 1 year of receiving the intravenous steroid treatment. 213 patients met our inclusion criteria. 30 were lost to follow-up and 2 had died before completing 1 year of follow-up. Of the remaining 181 patients, 133 (73.48%) had not undergone surgery within 1 year of receiving intra-venous steroid treatment while 48 (26.51%) had undergone surgery. 6 (3.31%) of the patients had undergone surgery more than 1 year of receiving IV steroid treatment. Intravenous steroid treatment in our retrospective series was approximately 30% better at preventing the need for surgery than the reported outcomes of conservative treatment in randomized controlled trials previously published.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10659-1 |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Kovarsky Adi Shani Alon Rod Dan Ciubotaru Nimrod Rahamimov Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients Scientific Reports |
| title | Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients |
| title_full | Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients |
| title_short | Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients |
| title_sort | effectiveness of intra venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation a retrospective study of 213 patients |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10659-1 |
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