Statin and Epidural Steroid Injection

Aydin Adnan Menderes University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Quality of Life After Epidural Steroid Injection; Low Back Pain After Epidural Steroid Injection

Treatments: Other: The SF 36 test; Other: Visual analogue score

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02162940

SARI-06

Details and patient eligibility

About

The impact of statin use on response to epidural steroid injections remains unknown and may well increase the effect considering the substantial anti-inflammatory properties. We thus tested the primary hypothesis that patients taking statins before and after the procedure will have lower VAS scores compared to patients not on statins. Secondarily we tested the hypothesis that statin users will have improved quality of life evaluated with Short Form 36 (SF 36).

Full description

Low back pain is one of the most common complaints for physician office visits and is the most common disorder requiring interventional pain treatment in USA. Fluoroscopy-assisted transforaminal anterior epidural steroid injections (TAESI) are more commonly preferred for treatment of low back pain. Most of the time epidural steroid injections are supplemented with different analgesic combinations due to insufficient analgesia. Recent reports have revealed immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities for statins in vivo and in vitro. Statins have very recently been shown to alleviate neuropathic pain in the rat model. However, the impact of statin use on response to epidural steroid injections remains unknown and may well increase the effect considering the substantial anti-inflammatory properties. We thus tested the primary hypothesis that patients taking statins before and after the procedure will have lower VAS scores compared to patients not on statins. Secondarily we tested the hypothesis that statin users will have improved quality of life evaluated with Short Form 36 (SF 36).

Enrollment: 300 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• indication for TAESI given by blinded pain physician

Exclusion criteria

• known allergy to steroids
• indication for surgery
• unstable opioid use
• drug or alcohol abuse within 6 months

Trial design

300 participants in 2 patient groups

patients taking statins

Description:

Visual anlogue score vas used to evaluate pain. The SF 36 test was used to evaluate quality of life.

Treatment:

Other: Visual analogue score

Other: The SF 36 test

patients not taking statins

Description:

Visual anlogue score vas used to evaluate pain.The SF 36 test was used to evaluate quality of life.

Treatment:

Other: Visual analogue score

Other: The SF 36 test