Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Observational Study
Can biomarkers differentiate pain and no pain subgroups of nonverbal children with cerebral palsy? A preliminary investigation based on noninvasive saliva sampling.
Assessing and treating pain in nonverbal children with developmental disabilities are a clinical challenge. Current assessment approaches rely on clinical impression and behavioral rating scales completed by proxy report. Given the growing health relevance of the salivary metabolome, we undertook a translational-oriented feasibility study using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and neuropeptide/cytokine/hormone detection to compare a set of salivary biomarkers relevant to nociception. ⋯ The ease of collection and noninvasive manner in which the samples were collected and analyzed support the possibility of the regular predictive use of this novel biomarker-monitoring method in clinical practice.
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Clinical Trial
Effectiveness of a new navigable percutaneous disc decompression device (L'DISQ) in patients with lumbar discogenic pain.
This study is a pilot study to assess the clinical outcomes of percutaneous disc decompression using the L'DISQ in patients with lumbar discogenic pain. ⋯ The L'DISQ device is specifically designed to ablate adjacent disc tissue using a wand that can be navigated into a torn annulus. Following ablation, we measured clinically significant pain improvement and decreased disability for patients with axial low back pain.
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Publication misrepresentation by residency applicants has been well documented, but fewer studies have investigated it in fellowship applicants, specifically in pain medicine. We therefore sought to evaluate the demographics of pain medicine fellowship applicants and the type, number, and accuracy of referenced publications they reported. ⋯ The lack of national data, specifically on applicant misrepresentation, due to the heretofore absence of a universal application process or match, impedes assessment of the extent to which these findings are representative of the national applicant pool. We observed notable trends (few female applicants; numerous international medical graduate applicants) different from those reported by other specialties. Despite the low rate (5.3%) of fraudulent publications, fellowship program directors and selection committees should be aware of this possibility to ensure selection of fellows with the highest degree of professional and ethical integrity.