006- Steroid Injection Lead to Increased Risk of Vertebral Fracture

This week we look at an expansive (over 50,000 patients were a part of the study) piece of research released by The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery in 2013. They found a staggering increased risk for lumbar vertebral fracture with every ESI that a patient received. This is of particular importance because patients typically go through a series of injections over the course of weeks, months, or years.  This paper indicates their may be a cumulative effect to these injections and a propensity for vertebral fracture. Clinically, this is important for Chiropractors because, statistically, we are seeing patients every day in practice who may have a heightened risk for vertebral fracture.

The Researchers Found-

“No significant difference between injected and non-injected groups with respect to age, predicted propensity score, sex, race, hypothyroidism, or steroid use.”

“Each successive injection increased the risk of fracture by a factor of 1.21 (95% confidence interval).”

“Of greater concern, the definable fracture risk as documented by Mandel et al. should be set against the best available evidence regarding the long-term efficacy of these interventions, which is admittedly less than robust.” - Andrew J Schoenfeld, MD

Episode Highlights-

 

This episode brought to you in conjunction with RockTape

A Retrospective Analysis of Vertebral Body Fractures Following Epidural Steroid Injections

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