Articles: patients.
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Radiofrequency heat lesioning has been advocated to prolong the duration of therapeutic effect of lumbar sympathetic block in Complex Region Pain Syndrome (CRPS) of the lower extremity. Prior to radiofrequency lesioning of the lumbar sympathetic trunk, sensory and motor stimulation may be used to verify that the active needle tip is not adjacent to a spinal nerve to avoid unwanted neural injury. However, the value of sensory stimulation to aid in precise needle positioning at the desired target remains controversial. ⋯ Motor stimulation did not occur up to the maximum voltage tested (2.0 V at 2 Hz) Sensory stimulation of the lumbar sympathetic trunk may be used to aid in localization of the active tip of the radiofrequency needle, in preparation for lesioning. A dermatomal sensory pattern was observed, suggesting that afferent sensory fibers travel in the lumbar sympathetic trunk. The implications of this observation for understanding the mechanism of CRPS-related pain are discussed.
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Chronic hip pain is often a debilitating problem and many patients are not good surgical candidates. Furthermore, hip replacement surgery has significant associated risks. We offer a conservative approach to hip replacement using radiofrequency lesioning. ⋯ Percutaneous radiofrequency lesioning of the sensory branches of the obturator and femoral nerves appears to be a safe alternative to hip replacement, especially in those patients where surgery is not an option. Further studies are needed to confirm our results.
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Inflammatory and fibrotic processes can involve the small airways (i.e., respiratory and terminal bronchioles) in several connective tissue disorders (CTDs). Obliterative (constrictive) bronchiolitis (OB) as well cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), previously termed bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP), are well-recognized, albeit rare, complications of rheumatoid arthritis and other CTDs. Bronchiectasis has also been described in patients with CTDs. ⋯ Surgical (open or thoracoscopic) lung biopsies can substantiate the diagnosis, but in some cases, the diagnosis can be affirmed less aggressively by appropriate imaging studies (e.g., HRCT) and transbronchial lung biopsies. Corticosteroids are highly efficacious for COP, but therapeutic options for OB are disappointing. Prophylactic antibiotics and good pulmonary hygiene remain the mainstay of therapy for patients with bronchiectasis.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Oct 2003
Bronchiolar disorders: classification and diagnostic approach.
Bronchiolitis is a process in which inflammatory cells and mesenchymal tissue are both present, mainly centered in and around membranous and/or respiratory bronchioles, with sparing of a considerable portion of the other parenchymal structures. The distribution and amounts of the cellular and mesenchymal components vary from case to case, which accounts for the variety of histopathologic, radiographic, and clinical aspects of bronchiolitis. The clinical classification of bronchiolar diseases considers the causes or the clinical settings in which bronchiolitis develops: inhalation of toxic fumes, irritant gases or organic dusts, infectious and postinfectious bronchiolitis, collagen-vascular disease-associated bronchiolitis, posttransplant bronchiolitis, or rarer associations. ⋯ High-resolution computed tomographic scanning (HRCT) is currently the best imaging technique for the evaluation of patients suspected of having bronchiolitis. HRCT findings in bronchiolar diseases with a good correlation with histopathologic changes are classified as follows: centrilobular tubular branching or nodular opacities; ground-glass attenuation or consolidation; mosaic perfusion; a mixed pattern. This article presents and briefly discusses the diagnostic approach to these diseases.
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Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Scotland after coronary heart disease and cancer and is a major cause of long-term disability. There is evidence in other clinical conditions such as asthma, diabetic retinopathy, and cancer that rural residents may have poorer outcomes, due to relative inaccessibility of health-service provision or because the disease is at a more advanced stage at diagnosis. However, the evidence-base for stroke care and outcomes in remote and rural areas is small and the subject matter is under-researched. This study was designed to examine, over a one-year period, the incidence and outcome of stroke occurring in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, a large geographical area with many rural and remote settlements. The study explored whether stroke care and outcome was affected by remoteness and rurality. ⋯ The low incidence of reported stroke may have been due to a number of reasons including: death prior to notification; diagnostic uncertainty; stroke severity--failure to notify very mild or very severe stroke cases; and inadequate reporting of patients managed at home. The greater proportion of patients in remote rural settlements being admitted to community hospitals and remaining there at 6 months may reflect greater availability of community hospital places in this settlement category, but may also be influenced by stroke severity. The low uptake of rehabilitation and support services generally, combined with the relatively poor functional outcome of our patients, suggests that there may be an unmet need for rehabilitation. However, rural patients did not appear specifically disadvantaged. Our study indicates that patients developing a first-time stroke in remote and rural areas of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland are not disadvantaged compared to those in urban/accessible areas, with respect to outcome or to the utilization of health and social care services. However, functional outcomes could be improved for patients in all settlement categories.