Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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The introduction of successful neuromodulation strategies for managing chronic visceral pain lag behind what is now treatment of choice in refractory chronic back and extremity pain for many providers in the United States and Europe. Changes in public policy and monetary support to identify nonopioid treatments for chronic pain have sparked interest in alternative options. In this review, we discuss the scope of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for visceral pain, its limitations, and the potential role for new intradural devices of the type that we are developing in our laboratories, which may be able to overcome existing challenges. ⋯ Despite the prevalence of visceral pain, the application of neuromodulation therapies, a standard approach for other painful conditions, has received far too little attention, despite promising outcomes from uncontrolled trials. Detailed descriptions of visceral pain pathways may offer several clues that could be used to implement devices tailored to this unique anatomy.
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A modification of the conventional technique for cervical transforaminal epidural steroid injection (CTFESI) has been developed. This technique may, theoretically, decrease the likelihood of the needle encountering the vertebral artery and spinal nerve. The approach uses angle measurements of the superior articular process ventral surface from the patient's axial MRI as a guide for fluoroscopic set-up and needle trajectory. This report aims to compare contrast flow patterns of the modified approach with those of the conventional technique. ⋯ A modification of the conventional CTFESI technique, developed for the purpose of improved safety, may provide superior contrast flow patterns when compared to the conventional approach.
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Post-tonsillectomy pain in adults can be severe and is often poorly controlled. Pain can lead to decreased oral intake, bleeding, longer hospital stays, emergency department visits, dehydration, and weight loss. Due to persistent pain despite scheduled medications, other methods for pain control are needed. Local/regional anesthetic options have been previously studied in this population. Unfortunately, neither the injection of local anesthetics into the tonsillar fossa nor the postoperative topical application of local anesthetics to the tonsillar bed has demonstrated efficacy in large systematic reviews. ⋯ Our case series of three patients provides proof of concept that use of nerve blocks in the pterygopalatine fossa can be useful for the control of post-tonsillectomy pain. Further study is needed to confirm these initial results.
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To describe the core elements of a Whole Health Primary Care Pain Education and Opioid Monitoring Program (PC-POP) and examine its effectiveness at increasing adherence to six of the Veteran Affairs/Department of Defense (VA/DoD) recommended guidelines for long-term opioid therapy (LOT) among chronic noncancer patients seen in primary care (i.e., urine drug screens [UDS], prescription drug monitoring program [PDMP] queries, informed consent, naloxone education/prescriptions, morphine equivalent daily dose [MEDD], and referrals to nonpharmacological pain interventions). ⋯ The PC-POP shows promise for increasing guideline-concordant care for providers working in primary care.
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To compare the nonadaptive manual system with the position-adaptive system in subjects with permanent spinal cord stimulator (SCS) implantation over a two-year follow-up period. ⋯ There was a trend of a sustained reduction in pain intensity as well as improvement in patient satisfaction at two-year follow-up in the position-adaptive system, suggesting long-term benefit over the nonadaptive manual system during SCS treatment.