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From Orthopaedics This Week...
31 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 35 | NOVEMBER 6, 2012
Steroid Injections
Leading to Fractures?
A retrospective study from Henry
Ford Hospital in Michigan has
found that patients treated with an epidural
steroid injection for back pain
relief are at increased risk of bone fractures
in the spine. The study, which was
accepted as a Best Paper at the recent
annual meeting of the North American
Spine Society, involved 6,000 patients.
“For a patient population already at risk
for bone fractures, steroid injections
carry a greater risk than previously
thought and actually pose a hazard to
the bone,” said Shlomo Mandel, M.D.,
a Henry Ford orthopedic physician and
the study’s lead author, in the October
25, 2012 news release.
Researchers say the risk of fracture
increased 29% with each steroid injection,
a finding they believe raises patient
safety concerns. Dr. Mandel recommends
that patients being treated with
steroid injections be told about the risks
associated with future fractures and
undergo bone testing.
Researchers compared data of 6,000
patients treated for back pain between
2007 and 2010—3,000 patients who
received at least one steroid injection
and 3,000 patients who did not receive
injection. The average age of patients
was 66 years, and 3,840 were women
and 2,160 were men. Researchers also
analyzed the incidence of bone fractures
in each group. Using the survival
analysis technique, researchers found
that the number of steroid injections is
linked with an increased likelihood of
fracture.
31 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 35 | NOVEMBER 6, 2012
Steroid Injections
Leading to Fractures?
A retrospective study from Henry
Ford Hospital in Michigan has
found that patients treated with an epidural
steroid injection for back pain
relief are at increased risk of bone fractures
in the spine. The study, which was
accepted as a Best Paper at the recent
annual meeting of the North American
Spine Society, involved 6,000 patients.
“For a patient population already at risk
for bone fractures, steroid injections
carry a greater risk than previously
thought and actually pose a hazard to
the bone,” said Shlomo Mandel, M.D.,
a Henry Ford orthopedic physician and
the study’s lead author, in the October
25, 2012 news release.
Researchers say the risk of fracture
increased 29% with each steroid injection,
a finding they believe raises patient
safety concerns. Dr. Mandel recommends
that patients being treated with
steroid injections be told about the risks
associated with future fractures and
undergo bone testing.
Researchers compared data of 6,000
patients treated for back pain between
2007 and 2010—3,000 patients who
received at least one steroid injection
and 3,000 patients who did not receive
injection. The average age of patients
was 66 years, and 3,840 were women
and 2,160 were men. Researchers also
analyzed the incidence of bone fractures
in each group. Using the survival
analysis technique, researchers found
that the number of steroid injections is
linked with an increased likelihood of
fracture.
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