Does Pain Reduction with Oral Steroids Predict Pain Reduction after a First-Time Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection in Patients with Cervical Radicular Pain? A Pilot Study.

Objective: Oral and injected steroids are used commonly in the treatment of cervical radicular pain despite a paucity of data demonstrating their efficacy. The purpose of this study is to assess whether the response to orally administered steroids among patients with acute cervical radicular pain who develop recurrent pain is associated with their subsequent response to cervical epidural steroid injections.

Methods: Patients referred to our center were evaluated and then referred for cervical epidural steroid injections at the clinical discretion of the provider; those who met inclusion criteria were offered participation in the study.

Evaluation of anesthetic technique on surgical site infections (SSIs) at a single institution.

Study Objective: To determine whether the previously published relationship between anesthetic technique and rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) was influenced by institution specific effects.

Design: Retrospective Review of Quality Assurance and Hospital Epidemiology databases.

Setting: Metropolitan medical center.