The new warning will be a more prominent reminder to doctors that injecting steroids into the epidural space, just outside the spinal cord, has risks. But the warning failed to list all of the possible adverse reactions. Those reactions are named in the fine print of current drug labels, and include: “arachnoiditis, bowel/bladder dysfunction, headache, meningitis, parapareisis/paraplegia, seizures, sensory disturbances.”
In 2009, the FDA convened a group to study the safety of some types of epidural steroid injections. In its new notice, the FDA said that group’s recommendations still are not ready and will be released when they are.
Dennis Capolongo of the EDNC, a group that has been campaigning against epidural steroid injections for years, called the FDA’s new warning “bitter sweet” because it did not go further. Capolongo wants the FDA to go beyond telling doctors that injecting steroids into the epidural space COULD have severe side effects and instead state that they MUST NOT do it.
In February of this year, Australian and New Zealand health authorities came out with exactly that stronger language, stating that steroids like this, “MUST NOT be used by the intrathecal, epidural, intravenous or any other unspecified routes.” The South African government issued similar warnings, according to Capolongo.
Since the FDA is still actively studying these procedures, it will be interesting to see if the agency takes any further steps. If and when it does, you can bet I’ll pass the information along.
From: skinnyhealthy.net
