Subarachnoid corticosteroid injection following inadequate response to epidural steroids for sciatica.

A review of pain clinic patients was carried out to determine whether patients who obtained limited or no relief from epidural injection of steroids derived benefit from subsequent subarachnoid steroid injections. Only 1 of 13 patients who had no benefit from epidural steroids improved following subarachnoid injection. Five of 6 patients with partial relief from epidural steroids had further improvement after subarachnoid injection.