Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Apr 2006
ReviewNeurostimulation for chronic neuropathic back pain in failed back surgery syndrome.
Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is defined as persistent or recurrent pain, mainly in the lower back and/or legs, even after previous anatomically successful spinal surgery. Treatment of such patients is difficult, with conservative therapy and repeated back surgery often proving unsuccessful at providing adequate pain relief. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a minimally invasive procedure that allows physicians and patients to inexpensively evaluate the response to therapy before permanent implantation. ⋯ Patients express great satisfaction with SCS and minimal side effects are observed. Moreover, SCS has been shown to be a cost-effective alternative to conventional therapies. Thus, SCS is the treatment of choice in medically refractory FBSS patients where recurrent neuropathic pain persists after surgery and analgesics are no longer effective or accompanied by intolerable side effects.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Apr 2006
Validation study of the Korean version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory.
This study aimed to evaluate the Korean version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-K) as a tool for assessing multiple symptoms in Korean cancer patients. ⋯ MDASI-K summary scores correlated significantly with those of the EORTC QLQ-C30. Discriminant validity of the MDASI-K was demonstrated by its ability to clearly distinguish significant differences within different Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance statuses and those between the patient and normal groups in the mean scores of both symptom and interference. The MDASI-K is a valid and reliable measure for assessing multiple symptoms in Korean cancer patients.
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This study was done to examine the level of symptom experience, and symptom variation in relation to demographic and clinical variables, in Korean patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Symptom experience was measured using a scale developed by the researchers through a literature review on LC. ⋯ The results indicated that (1) overall symptom experience was relatively low (mean 41.67, SD 24.71); (2) the main symptoms needing a management were fatigue, abdominal distension and/or peripheral edema, and muscle cramps; and (3) among the study variables, the severity of LC (P < 0.001) and the number of hospitalizations (P = 0.014) showed a significant relationship with overall symptom experience. These results suggest that symptom assessment requires a multidimensional approach and that it is imperative to consider disease severity in developing tailored symptom management programs for Korean patients with LC.