Lumbar epidural steroid injections (LESIs) are associated with a heightened risk for infection after lumbar spine decompression surgery, a new meta-analysis shows.
In a review that included more than 174,000 total patients, those who received a LESI within 6 months before their lumbar spine decompression surgery had more than a twofold risk of developing an infection postoperatively compared with patients who did not receive such an injection.
Dr William Hooten
"Many patients with compressive lesions, such as foraminal stenosis or spinal stenosis, have significant pain, and it's not uncommon for them to receive an epidural steroid injection prior to an elective operation," lead author W. Michael Hooten, MD, president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) and professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, told Medscape Medical News.
"However, as our study shows, receipt of that injection is associated with over twice the risk of developing a postoperative infection," Hooten said.
The findings were presented this month at the AAPM 2022 Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Greater Risk Closer to Surgery
Hooten and his team conducted a literature search and identified four studies that reported on the association of preoperative LESIs with postoperative infection.
The studies included 24,191 patients who received LESIs and 149,942 patients who did not.
