Articles: treatment.
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Percutaneous neuromodulation therapy (PNT) is a new minimally invasive, office-based treatment for low back pain in which electrical stimulation is delivered to the paraspinal peripheral nerves. The purpose of this study was to determine the safety, tolerability, and clinical efficacy of PNT in a population of patients with subacute low back pain with radiation to the lower extremity. ⋯ For many patients with subacute radiating low back pain, PNT significantly reduced pain and self-rated disability, and improved sleep quality and activity level. PNT is safe and generally well tolerated.
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End-of-life decisions play an important role in the intensive care unit. This review discusses the most important studies on end-of-life decisions published from October 2001 to October 2002. ⋯ The new studies put emphasis on the facts that all care providers should participate in the decision and that communication with surrogates is of extreme importance. Many valid points from other medical fields also apply to the intensive care unit situation.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Apr 2003
Treatment of sepsis and septic shock: is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
For years, the field of sepsis research was extremely active; the net result, however, was rather disappointing. Sepsis is still a major problem in intensive care units worldwide. Frustratingly, sepsis is characterized by a high morbidity and mortality. Although multiple (animal) studies with promising results have been published, the clinical situation has changed only a little. However, the recent 2 or 3 years of sepsis research brought significant results that will have a significant impact on clinical routine. ⋯ A breakthrough in sepsis research was long awaited. Recent clinical studies demonstrated that an improvement in outcome can be achieved even with simple means. This review focuses on these new therapeutic concepts, hopefully helping to transfer scientific advantages into everyday clinical routine.
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To summarize new advances and research findings that relate to the treatment of burn victims. ⋯ The combination of innovative approaches and a dedicated burn team is expected to continue to improve survival in the next few years even in the most severe cases.
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To summarize current knowledge on pathophysiology and treatment of drowning accidents. Studies and case reports were searched using the keywords drowning, near-drowning, asphyxia, hypoxia and hypothermia in conjunction with organ systems and specific treatment options. ⋯ Several case studies have convincingly demonstrated that drowning victims may survive neurologically intact even after prolonged submersion times, in particular in cold water. Therefore, aggressive initial therapeutic efforts are indicated in most near-drowning victims.