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Epidural steroid injections (ESIs; interlaminar, transforaminal, or caudal) are used to treat patients with radicular low back pain. Presumably, ESIs work by decreasing swelling and inflammation of nerves in the epidural space. In this multicenter trial, Norwegian investigators assessed the effectiveness of caudal ESIs versus saline injections in patients with chronic lumbar radiculopathy (>12 weeks of back and leg pain with associated sensory, reflex, or motor deficits in a nerve root distribution).
The 116 participants were randomized to subcutaneous sham injection of saline, caudal epidural injection of saline, or caudal epidural injection of triamcinolone (40 mg) plus saline; each participant received two injections within a 2-week perio…