Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
-
Review Case Reports
Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation for Erythromelalgia Related Foot Pain: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.
Erythromelalgia is a rare neurovascular disorder characterized by erythema, warmth, and episodic burning pain, often felt in the face, hands, and feet. Symptoms are typically worse with heat, exercise, stress, and during the overnight hours. ⋯ To our knowledge, the use of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation for erythromelalgia-related pain has not been described. Herein, we present a case of erythromelalgia-related pain at the bilateral plantar surfaces of the feet, which was treated successfully with bilateral sacral S1 nerve root DRG stimulation.
-
Review Case Reports
Parascapular Sub-Iliocostalis Plane Block: Comparative Description of a Novel Technique for Posterior Rib Fractures.
We describe a new analgesic technique, parascapular sub-iliocostalis plane block (PSIP), for lateral-posterior rib fractures as an alternative to other regional techniques in a high-risk patient who suffered a decompensation of her cardiorespiratory function after posterior chest trauma. We performed a continuous ultrasound-guided left PSIP block in the sub-iliocostalis plane next to the fourth rib to optimize analgesia and minimize complications. ⋯ The efficacy of the PSIP block may potentially depend on different mechanisms of action: (1) direct action in the fracture site by craniocaudal myofascial spread underneath the erector spinae muscle (ESM); (2) spread to deep layers through tissue disruption caused by trauma, to reach the proximal intercostal nerves; (3) further medial spread through deeper layers to the midline to block the posterior and ventral spinal nerves; (4) medial spread below the ESM, to reach the posterior spinal nerves (more reliably than rhomboid intercostal / sub-serratus [RISS] block); and (5) lateral spread in the sub-serratus (SS) plane to reach the lateral cutaneous branches of the intercostal nerves; while avoiding significant negative hemodynamic effects associated with techniques such as the paravertebral block (PVB), erector spinae plane (ESP) block or its variations, or thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA). A comparative comprehensive overview of the regional techniques described for posterior chest trauma is presented, including TEA, PVB, ESP block, retrolaminar block, mid-point to transverse process block, costotransverse foramen block, RISS, and serratus anterior plane (SAP) block.
-
Increased evidence indicates that pain location affects central sensitization (CS)-related symptoms. In addition, pain location and pain duration may be intricately related to CS-related symptoms. However, these factors have been investigated separately. This study aimed to investigate the association between CS-related symptoms and pain location and/or pain duration in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. ⋯ Pain location independently influenced CSI scores, and the combination of both spinal and limb pain and chronic pain indicated high CSI scores. The combination of pain location and pain duration is an important clue that points to CS-related symptoms.
-
The Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) is frequently used in the assessment of chronic pain. Three subgroups have been derived from MPI: adaptive coper (AC), dysfunctional (DYS), and interpersonally distressed (ID). The primary aim of this study was to examine whether outcome of Interdisciplinary Multimodal Pain Rehabilitation Programs (IMMRPs) differed across the MPI subgroups. ⋯ The validity of the MPI subgroups was partially confirmed. DYS and ID had the most severe clinical presentations at baseline and showed most improvement following IMMRP, but overall severity in DYS and ID at post-treatment was still higher than in the AC group. Future studies should examine how processes captured by MPI interact with neurobiological, medical, sociodemographic, and adaptation/coping factors and how these interactions impact severity of chronic pain and treatment outcome.
-
Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is widely practiced for the treatment of radicular pain. As its effectiveness is still subject to debate, a better patient selection for TFESI is necessary. We aimed to evaluate the potential of bedside-suitable qualitative sensory testing (QualST) to determine the early effectiveness of TFESI for the treatment of chronic lumbosacral radiculopathy (LSR)-related pain. ⋯ QualST might be clinically applicable for detecting patient subgroups that could differ in the early treatment results of radicular pain by TFESI.