Purpose Perineural steroids are often used to treat chronic peripheral neuropathic pain (NP) secondary to trauma or compression. Nevertheless, when compared with local anesthetics (LA) or conventional medical management (CMM), their efficacy and safety in patients with trauma or compression-related neuropathic pain syndromes is unclear. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the efficacy and safety of perineural steroids in compression or traumarelated NP after one to three months of injection. Source We reviewed randomized controlled trials from MEDLINE Ò , EMBASE TM , Cochrane central register of controlled trials, Cochrane database of systematic reviews, and Google Scholar (first 200 hits) up to April 2014 that compared perineural injections of steroids with LA or CMM in adult patients with trauma or compression-related chronic peripheral NP. A meta-analysis was performed on the data on pain scores measured at one to three months after the interventions. Quality of evidence was classified using the GRADE system. Two authors independently reviewed all identified titles and abstracts for eligibility. Principal findings Five trials comprising 353 patients (177 in the steroid group and 176 in the comparator groups) were included. At one to three months after the interventions, patients who received perineural steroids reported lower pain scores than those who received LA or CMM (mean difference: -1.31 points on a 0-10 numerical rating scale for pain; 95% confidence interval: -2.50 to -0.13; quality of evidence: low; I 2 = 89%). None of the studies reported any significant adverse effects.This manuscript was screened for plagiarism using http:// smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/.Author contributions Anuj Bhatia wrote the manuscript. Anuj Bhatia and David Flamer participated in the acquisition of data. Anuj Bhatia, David Flamer, and Prakesh S. Shah helped design and conduct the study, and they participated in the conception of the review, the analysis and interpretation of data, and drafting the article. Conclusions Perineural steroids may provide analgesic efficacy for one to three months in patients with chronic peripheral NP of traumatic or compressive origin; however, the strength of this recommendation is weak. Well-designed large randomized studies are required.
RésuméObjectif Les infiltrations périnerveuses de stéroïdes sont souvent utilisées pour le traitement de la douleur neuropathique périphérique chronique secondaire à un traumatisme ou une compression. Néanmoins, quand on les compare aux anesthésiques locaux (AL) ou à la prise en charge médicale conventionnelle (PCM), leur efficacité et sécurité chez les patients souffrant de syndromes neuropathiques douloureux secondaires à un traumatisme ou à une compression ne sont pas claires. Les objectifs de cette étude systématique et méta-analyse étaient de déterminer l'efficacité et l'innocuité des infiltrations périnerveuses de stéroïdes dans les neuropathies périphériques liées à une compression ou à un traumatis...