Pain physician
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Hypersensitivity of the central nervous system to environmental and chemical stimuli is a clinical feature of central sensitization mechanisms that can be assessed with the central sensitization inventory (CSI). ⋯ Breast neoplasm, pain, central sensitization mechanisms, central sensitization inventory.
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Prior literatures have shown inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could increase fibromyalgia (FM) risk. However, studies about gender and age distributions of FM risk among patients with IBD are rare. With large study samples, this study aimed to evaluate the FM risk among IBD patients with different gender and different age. ⋯ Inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease, fibromyalgia, Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.
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Chronic back pain is a prevalent disease and has a high impact in daily life. Implantable devices (IDs) for chronic pain management include spinal cord stimulation (SCS) systems and intrathecal drug delivery (ITDD) pumps. The number of ITDD implants have increased exponentially in the last decade. The number of complications, such as infections, are also more prevalent. Infection management guidelines are needed to standarize our clinical practice and define protocols of explantation. ⋯ Chronic pain, spinal cord stimulation infection, neurostimulator, intrathecal drug delivery pump, complication, infection, explantation.
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Neural blockade of the cervical medial branches is a validated procedure in the diagnosis and treatment of cervical zygapophyseal joint pain. Fluoroscopic visualization of the lower cervical medial branch target zones (CMBTZs) in lateral view is sometimes challenging or not possible due to the patient's shoulders obscuring the target. Large shoulders and short necks often exacerbate the problem. Clear visualization is critical to accuracy and safety. ⋯ Swimmer's view, cervical medial branch block, facet joint, fluoroscopy.
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Among the various causes of vertigo, the so-called cervicogenic vertigo (CV) has been the most controversial. However, perturbations of proprioceptive signals and abnormal activity of the cervical afferents can induce vertigo. Medial branch blocks (MBBs) are a diagnostic tool designed to test whether a patient's neck pain is mediated by one or more of the medial branches of the dorsal rami of the spinal nerve. It is unknown whether MBBs are also suitable for testing symptoms other than pain. ⋯ Cervicogenic vertigo, medial branch block, facet joint, zygapophysial joint, neck pain, differential diagnosis.