Pain physician
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Cord trauma is a risk with a cervical and thoracic interlaminar epidural approach to the epidural space. Intermittent lateral fluoroscopic imaging to detect needle depth is often cumbersome and may be difficult to interpret. In comparison, the contra-lateral oblique (CLO) fluoroscopic view is efficient and easy to interpret. ⋯ We conclude the CLO view provides an efficient and reliable method to visualize needle tip depth in relation to the epidural space. The close inter-observer agreement was possible with minimal physician instruction. Key words: Cervical interlaminar, cervical epidural, contra-lateral oblique, fluoroscopic imaging.
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Transforaminal lumbar endoscopic discectomy is a minimally invasive spine surgery procedure performed principally for the treatment of lumbar herniated discs. Endoscopic spine surgeons around the world have noted how far patients will travel to undergo this minimally invasive spine surgery, but the actual distance patients travel has never been investigated. ⋯ Quality metrics in health care tend to be focused on how health care is delivered. Another health care metric that focuses more on what patients desire is presented here: how far patients will travel for innovative spine care.Key words: Endoscopic spine surgery, transforaminal, minimally invasive, travel, lumbar disc herniation.
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Merit-Based Incentive Payment System: Meaningful Changes in the Final Rule Brings Cautious Optimism.
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) eliminated the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) act formula - a longstanding crucial issue of concern for health care providers and Medicare beneficiaries. MACRA also included a quality improvement program entitled, "The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, or MIPS." The proposed rule of MIPS sought to streamline existing federal quality efforts and therefore linked 4 distinct programs into one. Three existing programs, meaningful use (MU), Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), value-based payment (VBP) system were merged with the addition of Clinical Improvement Activity category. ⋯ In addition, the final rule reduced the burden of ACI, improved the coordination of performance, reduced improvement activities burden from 60 points to 40 points, and finally improved coordination between performance categories. Multiple concerns remain regarding the reduction in scoring for quality improvement in future years, increase in proportion of MIPS scoring for resource use utilizing flawed, claims based methodology and the continuation of the disproportionate importance of ACI, an expensive program that can be onerous for providers which in many ways has not lived up to its promise. Key words: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, merit-based incentive payment system, quality performance measures, resource use, improvement activities, advancing care information performance category.
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Observational Study
Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Highly Migrated Lumbar Disc Herniation.
Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) has been growing in popularity for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) due to its irreplaceable advantages over conventional open surgery. Compared with common lumbar disc herniations, discectomy of highly migrated LDH by PELD is known to be very difficult. Highly migrated lumbar disc herniation has long been a challenge for its specific characteristics. Three approaches for PELD have been applied to access a highly migrated LDH, including an interlaminar approach (IL), transforaminal approach (TF), and contralateral transforaminal approach (CTF). However, none of the existing research has systematically described the selection of the most appropriate procedure from the 3 approaches or the individualization of an operative procedure in different cases. ⋯ In our research, PELD with all 3 approaches was similarly effective to highly migrated disc herniation. The CTF approach required the longest operation duration and the most intraoperative times. On the contrary, the least operation time and radiographfrequency was required with the IL approach. In addition, we came to a conclusion of surgery approach selection when it comes to varied HM-LDH. Key words: Highly migrated, lumbar disc herniation, percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy, minimally invasive treatment.
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Use/misuse of the opioid combination hydrocodone-acetaminophen has been associated with permanent hearing loss. Although reports have been rare, this potential effect can have significant detrimental effect on patients' overall quality of life. To date, the ototoxic effect of hydrocodone alone has not been systematically investigated. ⋯ No ototoxic signal was observed for single-entity hydrocodone tablets at the dosages and treatment durations investigated. Key words: Audiologic monitoring, clinical trials, hydrocodone, opioids, ototoxicity monitoring, sensorineural hearing loss.