Pain physician
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Comparison of Spinoglenoid Versus Suprascapular Notch Approaches for Ultrasound-Guided Distal Suprascapular Nerve Blocks for Shoulder Pain: A Prospective Randomized Trial.
Distal suprascapular nerve blocks (SSNB) can be performed at the level of the suprascapular notch (the preferred site) or at the level of the spinoglenoid notch. ⋯ Both distal SSNB approaches significantly improved pain and disability scores in patients with chronic shoulder pain, with no observable differences in the short-to-medium term. SSNB performed at the level of the spinoglenoid notch is therefore not inferior in efficacy and safety to SSNB performed at the level of the suprascapular notch.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Co-treatment with Oral Duloxetine and Intraarticular Injection of Corticosteroid plus Hyaluronic Acid Reduces Pain in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis.
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common form of arthritis in elders which can lead to reduced daily activity and quality of life. It is important to administer a proper treatment with high efficacy and low side effects. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of co-treatment with oral duloxetine and intraarticular (IA) injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) and corticosteroid (CS) in patients with knee OA. ⋯ Patients receiving co-treatment with oral duloxetine and IA (HA+CS) injections experienced considerable improvement in pain and knee function compared to those who received an IA injection alone.
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The erector spinae plane block (ESPB), which was introduced for the management of thoracic pain, is a technically easy and relatively noninvasive ultrasound (ULSD)-guided technique. Although the ESPB is used widely in variable clinical situations, its sympatholytic effect has never been studied. ⋯ The high thoracic ESPB was effective in relieving upper extremity pain in diverse disease entities, and the PIs of patients' blocked sides demonstrated significant increases over the baseline value and contralateral unblocked sides.
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Millions of interventional pain procedures are performed each year to address chronic pain. The increase in these procedures also raises the concern of health risks associated with ionizing radiation for interventional pain management physicians who perform fluoroscopy-guided operations. Some health concerns include cancers, cataracts, and even pregnancy abnormalities. Little is known regarding the long-term and cumulative effects of small radiation doses. ⋯ Implementing safety precautions, such as wearing protective gear, providing educational programs, and keeping a safe distance, demonstrated a significant decrease in radiation exposure. The experience of interventional pain management physicians also factored into their radiation exposure during procedures. Radiation is a known carcinogen, and more research is needed to better understand its risk to interventional pain management physicians.
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Observational Study
Predictive Value of Blood Glucose Coefficient of Variation for Prognoses in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus-Associated Herpes Zoster.
Herpes zoster (HZ) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are common diseases in middle-aged and older adults aged 50 years or more, and the prevalence of DM-associated HZ is gradually increasing. Several studies have confirmed that DM is a significant risk factor for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). However, few studies have investigated the correlation between blood glucose-related indices and prognoses in patients with DM-associated HZ. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of blood glucose-related indices on the prognoses of these patients. ⋯ GLUcv has a high predictive value for the prognoses of patients with DM-associated HZ. The higher the GLUcv value, the likelier the patient is to have a poor prognosis.