Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Due to its persistent and debilitating nature, refractory chronic migraine (RCM) can cause significant socioeconomic burden. This study retrospectively reviewed the efficacy and safety of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) in the treatment of RCM. Predictors of treatment response were also investigated. ⋯ About 40% of patients with RCM obtained ≥ 30% reduction in headache frequency at 12 weeks after BoNT-A injection, and treatment-related adverse events were transient and acceptable. Ocular-type headache may predict treatment response.
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Chronic visceral pain is the predominant symptom of functional gastrointestinal disorders and chronic pancreatitis. Such pain can impair the patients' quality of life, and can also serve as one of the principal reasons for these patients to seek medical help. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms of chronic visceral pain have remained unclear, and much of what we know about visceral pain has been derived from studies of somatic nociception. ⋯ Minocycline (a microglia inhibitor) reversed the hyperalgesia in rat models of chronic visceral pain, whereas fractalkine (FKN, a microglia activator) reproduced the visceral nociception in naïve rats. These preliminary results support the pronociceptive role of spinal microglia in mediating visceral hyperalgesia. Consequently, spinal microglia may serve as a promising target for controlling the chronic visceral pain.
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Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion is one of the most common surgical interventions performed by spine surgeons. As efforts are made to control healthcare spending because of the limited or capped resources offered by the National Health Insurance, surgeons are faced with the challenge of offering high-level patient care while minimizing associated healthcare expenditures. Routine ordering of postoperative hematologic tests and observational intensive care unit (ICU) stay might be areas of potential cost containment. This study was designed to determine the necessity of routine postoperative hematologic tests and ICU stay for patients undergoing elective anterior cervical discectomy and fusion and to investigate whether the elimination of unnecessary postoperative laboratory blood studies and ICU stay inhibits patient care. ⋯ Cost savings per admission amounted to approximately 10% of the hospitalization cost by the elimination of unnecessary postoperative routine laboratory blood studies and observational ICU stay without waiving patient care in the current volatile, cost-conscious healthcare environment in Taiwan.
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Although there were some reports predicting postoperative morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing liver transplantation, most of them studied deceased-donor liver transplantation (DDLT). In this context, we performed this study to predict early mortality after liver transplantation from preoperative variables in both living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and DDLT. ⋯ In conclusion, hepatic encephalopathy in DDLT and serum creatinine level in LDLT were the significant pretransplant variables that were related with early death after LT.