Arch Neurol Chicago
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Arch Neurol Chicago · Jul 1988
ReviewDangers from methylprednisolone acetate therapy by intraspinal injection.
Clinical trials first began in 1960 with methylprednisolone acetate (Depo-Medrol) administered intrathecally, in an attempt to treat both disk disease and multiple sclerosis. After a few reports of salubrious results, there began an outpouring of contradictory data, which continues in 1988. During this time span, researchers who cautiously tested the different theses of improvement began to publish serious warnings of many complications. ⋯ Therefore, the various spaces and membranes are not only contiguous, but continuous. It follows that an injection of methylprednisolone acetate into the epidural space does not guarantee that it will remain isolated there. Finally, the inadvertency of injections by the epidural route occurs with the following frequency: 40% of injections can be inadvertently made into interspinous ligaments, and 2.5% into the subarachnoid space.