Pain physician
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Review
Stem Cell Therapy for Chronic Pain Management: Review of Uses, Advances, and Adverse Effects.
This review article outlines the recent advances, uses, and adverse effects of cell-based therapy for chronic pain management. Cell based therapies are gaining increasing ground as novel treatment modalities for a variety of pain pathologies that include, but are not limited to, neuropathic pain and degenerative disc disease. As these treatment modalities become more common practice, we have focused our review to provide pain practitioners and other practicing physicians an understanding of the technology and to summarize key clinical data and existing clinical trials that are being pursued by clinical investigators worldwide. ⋯ Though the data from existing studies look promising for the use of stem cells as a novel therapeutic strategy for discogenic pain, neuropathic pain, and osteoarthritis, additional clinical studies will be needed to validate the benefit of the technology for clinical use. However, we hope that this narrative review will help guide pain physicians in making informed decisions for their patients about the potential of cell-based therapy for treating chronic pain conditions.
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Meta Analysis
Effectiveness of Lateral Decubitus Position for Preventing Post-Dural Puncture Headache: A Meta-Analysis.
Post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) is a relatively common complication of lumbar punctures for spinal anesthesia or neurologic diagnosis. For many years, a high number of drugs has been evaluated to treat PDPH, yet there is a minority to prevent this complication. The lateral decubitus position instead of sitting position during lumbar puncture has become an interesting approach because of its feasibility and patient satisfaction. ⋯ Our results indicate that lateral decubitus position during lumbar puncture seems to be a good alternative for preventing PDPH. Further research should focus on the new prophylactic alternatives to reduce the incidence of PDPH.
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The impairment in musculoskeletal structures in patients with low back pain (LBP) is often disproportionate to their complaint. Therefore, the need arises for exploration of alternative mechanisms contributing to the origin and maintenance of non-specific LBP. The recent focus has been on central nervous system phenomena in LBP and the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the various symptoms and characteristics of chronic pain. Knowledge concerning changes in pain processing in LBP remains ambiguous, partly due to the diversity in the LBP population. ⋯ The present results suggest normal pain sensitivity in RLBP, but future research is needed. In mild and severe CLBP some findings of altered pain processing are evident, although to a lesser extent compared to FM patients. In conclusion, mild and severe CLBP presents within a spectrum, somewhere between completely healthy persons and FM patients, characterized by pain augmentation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
High Voltage Pulsed Radiofrequency for the Treatment of Refractory Neuralgia of the Infraorbital Nerve: A Prospective Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Study.
A recent study showed that 50% of patients who suffered from refractory neuralgia of the infraorbital nerve obtained satisfactory efficacy after pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment. A pilot study showed that increasing the output voltage of PRF significantly improved the efficacy for trigeminal neuralgia; however, whether increasing the output voltage of PRF can improve the treatment outcomes for neuralgia of the infraorbital nerve is unknown. ⋯ The results showed that high voltage PRF was effective and safe for patients with refractory neuralgia of the infraorbital nerve and could become a treatment option in patients who do not respond to conservative treatment.
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Image guidance for spine pain control procedures, including epidural steroid injection, nerve root block, and facet block, can be performed with either computed tomography (CT) or conventional fluoroscopy. CT has the advantage of improved anatomic localization and use of air for contrast; however, there are concerns that CT leads to higher radiation dose and longer procedure time. ⋯ These findings add to the growing evidence that CT guidance is a safe and effective technique for epidural steroid injection. These results further demonstrate that other spine intervention procedures, including nerve root block and facet block, can also be performed under CT guidance with short procedure time and reasonable levels of radiation exposure. This approach can be effectively used in a patient population with a high rate of obesity and medical comorbidities.