Recommendations and Guidance for Steroid Injection Therapy and COVID-19 Vaccine Administration from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN)

• Main Authors: Chakravarthy K, Strand N, Frosch A, Sayed D, Narra LR, Chaturvedi R, Grewal PK, Pope J, Schatman ME, Deer T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-03-01
• Series: Journal of Pain Research
• Subjects: vaccines; chronic pain; interventional pain therapy; epidural steroid injections; covid-19
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/recommendations-and-guidance-for-steroid-injection-therapy-and-covid-1-peer-reviewed-article-JPR

Krishnan Chakravarthy,1,2 Natalie Strand,3 Anne Frosch,4,5 Dawood Sayed,6 Lakshmi Rekha Narra,1 Rahul Chaturvedi,1 Prabhdeep K Grewal,7 Jason Pope,8 Michael E Schatman,9,10 Timothy Deer11 1Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of California San Diego Health Sciences, San Diego, CA, USA; 2VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA; 3Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA; 4Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN, USA; 5Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; 6Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA; 7Pain Medicine, TSAOG Orthopaedics, San Antonio, TX, USA; 8Evolve Restorative Center, Santa Rosa, CA, USA; 9Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; 10Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; 11Department of Pain Medicine, The Spine and Nerve Center of the Virginias, Charleston, WV, USACorrespondence: Michael E Schatman Tel [phone]Email [e-mail]: To date, COVID-19 has spread to more than 108 million people globally, with a death toll surpassing 2 1/2 million. With the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of two highly effective COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna, we now have a novel approach to contain COVID-19 related morbidity and mortality. Chronic pain care has faced unprecedented challenges for patients and providers in this ever-changing climate. With the approval of COVID-19 vaccines, we now face questions relating to the potential effects of pain treatments utilizing steroids on vaccine efficacy. In this analysis, we address these issues and provide guidance for steroid therapies based on available data and expert recommendations.Keywords: vaccines, chronic pain, interventional pain therapy, epidural steroid injections, COVID-19