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Treatment for meralgia paraestheticaKhalil N, Nicotra A, Rakowicz W
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SummaryTreatment for meralgia paraesthetica, a condition causing numbness and sometimes pain in the thighMeralgia paraesthetica is a common clinical condition caused by damage to the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh, resulting in pain, numbness and tingling in the front and outer side of the thigh. The diagnosis is easy to make clinically. Although not life-threatening, the condition can cause a lot of discomfort to the affected individual. A number of interventions are in common use and we wanted to examine the evidence in the literature for their efficacy. No randomised controlled trials were found. Local injections of corticosteroid and surgical operations were found to be effective treatments in observational studies. However, a single observational study also showed that meralgia paraesthetica improved spontaneously in the majority of cases. Randomised controlled trials of treatments for meralgia paraesthetica are needed.
This is a Cochrane review abstract and plain language summary, prepared and maintained by The Cochrane Collaboration, currently published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010 Issue 1, Copyright © 2010 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).
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July 16. 2008 AbstractBackgroundMeralgia paraesthetica is a clinical syndrome for which a number of treatments are in common use, including conservative measures, injection of corticosteroid with local anaesthetic and surgery. We aimed to examine the evidence for the relative efficacy of these interventions. ObjectivesTo assess the relative efficacy of commonly used treatments. Search strategyWe searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Trials Register (April 2008), MEDLINE (January 1 1966 to April 18 2008), EMBASE (January 1 1980 to May 12 2008) and CINAHL (January 1 1980 to May 12 2008) for randomised controlled studies. Non-randomised studies were identified by searching MEDLINE (January 1 1966 to April 18 2008) and EMBASE (January 1 1980 to May 12 2008). We also inspected the reference lists of these studies to identify further studies. Selection criteriaWe were unable to identify any randomised controlled or quasi-randomised controlled trials. We therefore looked for high quality observational studies meeting the following criteria: Data collection and analysisRelevant data from each study meeting the selection criteria were extracted independently by all three authors and transferred into a data extraction form created for the review. Main resultsWe found no randomised controlled or quasi-controlled trials. Cure or improvement have been described in high quality observational studies: Authors' conclusionsIn the absence of any published randomised controlled or quasi-randomised controlled trials, the objective evidence base for treatment choices in meralgia paraesthetica is weak. High quality observational studies report comparable high improvement rates for meralgia paraesthetica following local injection of corticosteroid and surgical interventions (either nerve decompression or neurectomy). However, a similar outcome has been reported without any intervention in a single natural history study. |