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Emergency department (ED) patients with low back pain and radiculopathy (LBPR) are typically managed with analgesia and physiotherapy. To determine whether adding corticosteroids to routine care would provide additional relief, investigators conducted a randomized, controlled trial in which 58 adult LBPR patients in the EDs of two public hospitals in Australia received standard analgesia, physiotherapy referral, and education, plus either a single dose of intravenous dexamethasone (8 mg) or placebo.
Results were as follows:
Reduction in pain score at 24 hours (the primary outcome) was greater with dexamethasone than with placebo (−2.63 vs. −0.77; P=0.019).
Reduction in pain score at 6 weeks versus baseline was significant with both dexamethaso…