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Treatment for meralgia paraesthetica
Nofal Khalil1, Alessia Nicotra, Wojtek Rakowicz
1Clinical Neurophysiology, West London Neurosciences Centre, London, UK. nofal.khalil@imperial.nhs.uk.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|December 14, 2012
Summary
Evidence for meralgia paraesthetica treatments is limited due to a lack of randomized controlled trials. Observational studies show high improvement rates for corticosteroid injections and surgery, similar to spontaneous recovery.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Surgical Procedures
- Pain Management
Background:
- Meralgia paraesthetica is a common clinical syndrome.
- Current treatments include conservative measures, corticosteroid injections, and surgery.
- The evidence for treatment efficacy requires examination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the relative efficacy of commonly used treatments for meralgia paraesthetica.
Main Methods:
- Searched multiple databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies up to October 2012.
- Due to a lack of RCTs, high-quality observational studies with at least five cases and three-month follow-up were selected.
- Data extraction was performed independently by three authors.
Main Results:
- No RCTs or quasi-RCTs were identified.
- Observational studies reported spontaneous improvement in 69% of cases.
- Corticosteroid injections showed improvement in 83% of cases.
- Surgical decompression and neurectomy yielded improvement in 88% and 94% of cases, respectively.
- Iatrogenic meralgia paraesthetica showed 97% complete recovery.
Conclusions:
- The evidence base for meralgia paraesthetica treatments is weak due to the absence of RCTs.
- High improvement rates are reported for corticosteroid injections and surgical interventions in observational studies.
- Similar outcomes were observed in natural history studies, suggesting conservative management may be effective.
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