Pain physician
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Despite recent developments in implantable neurostimulation devices, the adjustment of stimulation levels to the patient's postural changes has remained a problem so far. ⋯ The findings of the present work are similar to those described in previous publications that showed the relationship between postural changes and several stimulation thresholds and pulse energy. The posture which requires lower energy - and whose corresponding therapeutic range (TR) is narrower--is supine decubitus.
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In spite of the widespread performance of intra-articular zygapophyseal joint (IAZJ) injections, we know of no systematic analysis to date that examines the risks and types of adverse events when IAZJ injections are performed. ⋯ Fluoroscopically guided IAZJ injections have minimal adverse effects. The most common immediate adverse event was vasovagal reaction and most common delayed adverse event was injection site soreness.
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Vicodin, the combination drug of acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone, is one of the most prescribed drugs on the market today. Opioids have demonstrated the ability to paradoxically cause increased pain sensitivity to users in a phenomena called opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). While selected opioids have been shown to produce OIH symptoms in an animal model, hydrocodone and the combination drug Vicodin have yet to be studied. ⋯ However, increased pain sensitivity was only noted in the thermal pathway and the hypersensitivity was only seen with the opioid combination drug, not the opioid alone. The results of this study both support the results of previous rodent opioid studies while generating further questions about the specific properties of Vicodin that contribute to pain hypersensitivity. The growing use of Vicodin to treat chronic pain necessitates further research looking into this paradoxical pain response.