OASIS: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial of
oral steroids for sciatica
Sciatica is a back pain condition with pain going down the back of the leg. It affects around 400,000 Australians each year and is most commonly caused by compression on the spinal nerve root due to a disc bulge. Unfortunately, there is a complete lack of simple, effective treatments for patients with acute sciatica.
Glucocorticoids (steroid medicines) have anti-inflammatory actions that may target the inflammatory mechanism thought to be present to cause acute sciatica. Current evidence suggests that glucocorticoids may be effective in treating sciatica, but this needs further confirmation.
OASIS is a double-blind, randomised controlled trial of oral steroids for the reduction of leg pain severity in sciatica. We will establish whether adequate, sustained doses of oral steroids can effectively reduce pain, and be safe and cost-effective in people with acute sciatica.
Meet The Team
Operations team
Hanan McLachlan
Research Manager
The University of Sydney
Dr Giovanni Ferreira
Postdoctoral Research fellow
The University of Sydney
Melissa Webb
Research Coordinator
The University of Sydney
Melanie Hamilton
Research Support Assistant
The University of Sydney
Dr Chang Liu
PhD candidate
The University of Sydney
Principal Investigator
Prof Christine Lin
The University of Sydney
Chief Investigators
Prof Andrew McLachlan
The University of Sydney
Prof Jane Latimer
The University of Sydney
Dr Christina Abdel Shaheed
The University of Sydney
Associate Investigators
Prof Chris Maher
The University of Sydney
Prof Rachelle Buchbinder
Monash University
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Dr Bethan Richards
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Qiang Li
For more information:
Trial registration https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=378747.
Acknowledgments:
The OASIS study is funded by an NHMRC project grant. The study is sponsored by The University of Sydney.