Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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The occurrence of bone metastases is common in patients with advanced cancer. The literature supports percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty as minimally invasive procedures to relieve pain and improve quality of life for selected patients with disabling pain from pathological vertebral fractures secondary to bone metastases. ⋯ This case and recent literature demonstrate positive outcomes of sacroplasty in terms of pain reduction and improved mobility. Further research is warranted to establish the role of such minimally invasive percutaneous procedures for pain management in cancer patients.
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Case Reports
Gasserian Ganglion and Retrobulbar Nerve Block in the Treatment of Ophthalmic Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Case Report.
Varicella zoster virus reactivation can cause permanent histological changes in the central and peripheral nervous system. Neural inflammatory changes or damage to the dorsal root ganglia sensory nerve fibers during reactivation can lead to postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). For PHN of the first division of the fifth cranial nerve (ophthalmic division of the trigeminal ganglion), there is evidence of inflammatory change in the ganglion and adjacent ocular neural structures. First division trigeminal nerve PHN can prove to be difficult and sometimes even impossible to manage despite the use of a wide range of conservative measures, including anticonvulsant and antidepressant medication. Steroids have been shown to play an important role by suppressing neural inflammatory processes. We therefore chose the trigeminal ganglion as an interventional target for an 88-year-old woman with severe ophthalmic division PHN after she failed to respond to conservative treatment. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of ophthalmic division PHN successfully treated with a combination of trigeminal ganglion and retrobulbar nerve block using a local anesthetic agent and steroid for central and peripheral neural inflammatory processes.
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Observational Study
Content Validity of the Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire in a Pain Rehabilitation Setting.
Content validity, the proper reflection of the concept to be measured, is yet unknown for the Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ). It is frequently used in pain rehabilitation because treatment expectancy is influential on the outcome. ⋯ After small changes, the CEQ appeared to be a content-valid measurement instrument for patients waiting for treatment. However, for patients who had already undergone treatment, the content validity of the CEQ was less, and considerable changes were necessary.
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Traumatic amputation at the pelvic level is a rare procedure with few studies addressing long-term complications. Painful neuroma formation may form at the site of nerve transection and cause significant impairments in daily living. Ultrasound-guided cryoablation therapy has grown in popularity and should be considered in patients with painful neuromas. This is a case report of complete pain relief in a patient with rare traumatic hip disarticulation with neuroma formation, treated with ultrasound-guided cryoablation. The patient gave consent for publication. ⋯ This case illustrates a rare incidence of painful neuroma formation in a patient with traumatic hip disarticulation. Cryoablation with ultrasound guidance resulted in resolution of all pain. We report, to the best of our knowledge, the first occasion of an ultrasound-guided cryoablation resulting in complete pain relief in a traumatic hip disarticulation neuroma.
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Endogenous and exogenous opioids are substrates of the permeability glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux transporter, which is encoded by the ABCB1 (MDR1) gene. Genetic polymorphisms of ABCB1 may contribute to interindividual differences in pain modulation and analgesic responses. We investigated the relationship between ABCB1 polymorphisms and cold pain sensitivity among healthy males. ⋯ The CGC/CGC diplotype of ABCB1 polymorphisms was associated with variability in cold pain threshold and pain tolerance in healthy males.