Current pain and headache reports
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Feb 2021
ReviewA Comprehensive Update of the Superior Hypogastric Block for the Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain.
This is a comprehensive review of the superior hypogastric block for the management of chronic pelvic pain. It reviews the background, including etiology, epidemiology, and current treatment available for chronic pelvic pain. It then presents the superior hypogastric block and reviews the seminal and most recent evidence about its use in chronic pelvic pain. ⋯ Several definitions exist for chronic pelvic pain (CPP), making the diagnosis more challenging for the clinician; however, they commonly describe continuous pain lasting 6 months in the pelvis, with an overwhelming majority of patients being reproductive-aged women. This pain is often one of mechanical, inflammatory, or neuropathic. It is generally underdiagnosed and affects anywhere between 5 and 26% of women. The diagnosis of chronic pelvic pain is clinical, consisting of mainly of a thorough history and physical and ruling out other causes. The pathophysiology is often endometriosis (70%) and also includes PID, adhesions, adenomyosis, uterine fibroids, chronic processes of the GI and urinary tracts, as well as pelvic-intrinsic musculoskeletal causes. Treatment includes physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and oral and parenteral opioids. Interventional techniques provide an added tier of treatment and may help to reduce the requirement for chronic opioid use. Superior hypogastric plexus block is one of the available interventional techniques; first described in 1990, it has been shown to provide long-lasting relief in 50-70% of patients who underwent the procedure. Two approaches described so far, both under fluoroscopy, have seen similar results. More recently, ultrasound and CT-guided procedures have also been described with similar success. The injectate includes local anesthetic, steroids, and neurolytic agents such as phenol or ethanol. CPP is a common debilitating condition. It is diagnosed clinically and is underdiagnosed globally. Current treatments can be helpful at times but may fall short of satisfactory pain relief. Interventional techniques provide an added layer of treatment as well as reduce the requirement for opioids. Superior hypogastric plexus block provides long-lasting relief in many patients, regardless of approach. Evidence level is limited, and further RCTs could help provide better tools for evaluation and patient selection.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Feb 2021
ReviewTapentadol, Buprenorphine, and Levorphanol for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain: a Systematic Review.
The objective of this systematic review is to present the available evidence for the utilization of the atypical opioids tapentadol, buprenorphine, and levorphanol for the treatment of neuropathic pain. ⋯ In total, 1619 articles were retrieved of which 10 studies were included. Of 5 included studies pertaining to tapentadol, 4 studies show tapentadol monotherapy to be effective for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy or chronic, radiating low back pain. Of the 3 studies included for buprenorphine, only one was a randomized controlled trial found not to have a statistically significant reduction in pain with TD buprenorphine likely due to very high withdrawal rates during the trial. Only 2 case reports were included from the available literature for levorphanol providing low-quality anecdotal evidence. The role of tapentadol, buprenorphine, and levorphanol for neuropathic pain conditions requires robust research including randomized controlled trials to evaluate their efficacy and safety.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Feb 2021
ReviewDiabetic Neuropathy: a Critical, Narrative Review of Published Data from 2019.
This manuscript is a systematic, narrative review that compiles and describes all data available from 2019 related to epidemiologic, diagnostic, and therapeutic advances in diabetic neuropathy (DN). ⋯ Epidemiology of DN is discussed. Diagnostic modalities include predictive models, electrodiagnostics, imaging, and biomarkers. A majority of studies on the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) involve pharmacotherapy, but complementary and alternative medicine, exercise, modalities, psychological, interventional, and surgical options are also explored. DN is a highly prevalent and debilitating consequence of diabetes that can present challenges to the clinician as the assessment is largely subjective with different phenotypic presentations among patients. Treatment of DN is largely symptomatic as the pathogenesis of DN is not fully understood and is likely multifactorial. It is evident from the broad range of treatments that too often provide unsatisfactory relief that there is no consensus about a single most effective treatment for DN, and monotherapy rarely proves to be successful.
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This review provides an updated discussion on the clinical presentation, diagnosis and radiographic features, mechanisms, associations and epidemiology, treatment, and prognosis of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). Headache is common in PRES, though headache associated with PRES was not identified as a separate entity in the 2018 International Classification of Headache Disorders. Here, we review the relevant literature and suggest criteria for consideration of its inclusion. ⋯ COVID-19 has been identified as a potential risk factor for PRES, with a prevalence of 1-4% in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection undergoing neuroimaging, thus making a discussion of its identification and treatment particularly timely given the ongoing global pandemic at the time of this writing. PRES is a neuro-clinical syndrome with specific imaging findings. The clinical manifestations of PRES include headache, seizures, encephalopathy, visual disturbances, and focal neurologic deficits. Associations with PRES include renal failure, preeclampsia and eclampsia, autoimmune conditions, and immunosuppression. PRES is theorized to be a syndrome of disordered autoregulation and endothelial dysfunction resulting in preferential hyperperfusion of the posterior circulation. Treatment typically focuses on treating the underlying cause and removal of the offending agents.
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While ketamine is an established anesthetic, its role in the management of acute surgical pain is less certain. Therefore, a literature review is warranted to examine the role of ketamine in acute pain management. ⋯ The use of ketamine appears to be most efficacious in larger procedures that lead to increased systemic inflammation or extensive tissue damage. In addition, ketamine seems to be most successful when administered consistently throughout a procedure, such as by an infusion instead of a single bolus, in order to have adequate dosing for an analgesic effect. Therefore, the focus of research should be on procedures that lead to moderate to severe pain using frequent dosing to determine the most effective role of ketamine. Most importantly, the current literature shows that ketamine can be used as a successful part of multimodal anesthesia with few side effects in patients undergoing major procedures associated with moderate to severe pain.