Epidural use of glucocorticosteroids for treating radicular pain: narrative review

Abstract

This review aimed to examine the history of the epidural use of glucocorticosteroids (GCS), perception of the safety of epidural administration of GCS, and examples of clinical use for the treatment of radiculopathies and radicular pain. The search for publications covered the period from February 2, 2023, to September 1, 2023, in PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, and the International Association for the Study of Pain. The search identified 306 studies, of which 243 were excluded because they described the pathophysiology and treatment of chronic pain syndromes other than neuropathic pain and epidural use of GCS. The remaining 63 publications were included in the review. The results of the analysis of the materials and publications revealed that the epidural use of GCS showed high effectiveness both as an independent method of treating radicular pain with neuropathy and as part of complex therapy. In some cases, the epidural use of GCS does not exclude neurosurgical intervention.