Curēus
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Baastrup's disease is a relatively common disorder of the vertebral column, characterized by low back pain arising from the close approximation of adjacent posterior spinous processes and resultant degenerative changes, most commonly at L4-L5. Though fairly common, Baastrup's disease is overwhelmingly underdiagnosed and often missed due to a lack of knowledge and/or improper diagnostic techniques, leading to frequent mistreatment. ⋯ Imaging studies revealed "kissing" posterior spinous processes, consistent with a diagnosis of Baastrup's Disease. He was treated with subcutaneous steroid injections and showed considerable clinical improvement.
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Background Context Controversy remains over the use of provocative discography in conjunction with computed tomography (CT) to locate symptomatic intervertebral discs in patients with chronic, low back pain (LBP). The current study explores the relationship between discogenic pain and disc morphology using discography and CT, respectively, and investigates the efficacy of this combined method in identifying surgical candidates for lumbar fusion by evaluating outcomes. Methods 43 consecutive patients between 2006 and 2013 who presented with refractory low back pain and underwent discography and CT were enrolled in the study. For this study, "refractory LBP" was defined as pain symptoms that persisted or worsened after 6 months of non-operative treatments. ⋯ VAS, ODI, and SF-36 scores demonstrated significant improvements at 10 out of 12 postoperative time points compared with preoperative baseline. Conclusions Lumbar discography with post-discography CT can be an effective method to evaluate patients with discogenic back pain refractory to non-operative treatments. Those patients with one- or two-level high concordant pain scores with associated annular tears and negative control disc represent good surgical candidates for lumbar interbody spinal fusion.
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Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to severe infection causing significant morbidity and mortality that costs the health care system $20.3 billion annually within the United States. It is well established that fluid resuscitation is a central component of sepsis management; however, to date there is no consensus as to the ideal composition of fluid used for resuscitation. In this review, we discuss the progression of clinical research comparing various fluids, as well as the historical background behind fluid selection for volume resuscitation. We conclude that the use of balanced fluids, such as Ringer's Lactate, seems very promising but further research is needed to confirm their role.