Articles: cations.
-
Nonmedical use of opioid medications constitutes a serious health threat as the rates of addiction, overdoses, and deaths have risen in recent years. Increasingly, inappropriate and excessively liberal prescribing of opioids by physicians is understood to be a central part of the crisis. Public health officials, hospital systems, and legislators are developing programs and regulations to address the problem in sustained and systematic ways that both insures effective treatment of pain and appropriate limits on the availability of opioids. ⋯ Academic detailing has successfully affected the management of health conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and recently, has targeted physicians who prescribe opioids. This article discusses the approach as a potentially effective preventative intervention to address the epidemic of opioid overuse. Key words: Opioid abuse, opioid misuse, academic detailing, health policy, interactive education,prevention.
-
Intraneural perineuriomas are rare, benign lesions produced by the neoplastic proliferation of perineurial cells. They typically present in adolescents and affect nerves of the limbs. In our experience, we have not encountered a single case of classic intraneural perineurioma at an intradural location. ⋯ Based on our study, the occurrence of classic intraneural perineuriomas intradurally is exceedingly rare, if at all present. This may be related to the paucity of perineurial cells at the nerve root level and reciprocal interactions between neuroglial cells at the central-to-peripheral transition zones.
-
Enzyme immunoassays (EIA) have notable limitations for monitoring therapeutic compliance in pain management. Chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry provides definitive results and superior sensitivity and specificity over traditional EIA testing. ⋯ Mass spectrometry is a more robust and reliable method for detection of drugs used in the pain management setting. Due to the extent of undisclosed use and abuse of medications and illicit drugs, LC-MS/MS testing is necessary for adequate and accurate drug detection. In addition, LC-MS/MS methods are superior in terms of sensitivity and number of compounds that can be screened, making this a better method for use in pain management. Key words: Pain management, enzyme immunoassays, mass spectrometry, urine drug testing, prescription status, compliance.
-
The accuracy of intraoperative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)–based tractography of the corticospinal tract (CST) is crucial for its use in neurosurgical planning and its implementation in image-guided surgery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest prospective correlative study of the intraoperative DTI tractography of the CST and intraoperative direct electrical subcortical stimulation (DESS) of the CST, with application of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMR). ⋯ CST visualization in the iMRI setting appears to have a high sensitivity in accurately localizing the area of the CST adjacent to the resection cavity in glioma surgery. More prospective studies with a large sample size are needed to further support the results.
-
Osteoporosis is an important problem in those of advanced age. Osteoporosis can induce sacral insufficiency fractures (SIFs). As average life expectancy increases, the number of patients with osteoporotic SIFs also increases. Osteoporotic SIFs cause severe low back pain and immobilization. Treatment of SIFs varies from analgesia to surgery. ⋯ Percutaneous sacroplasty is an effective minimally invasive treatment for osteoporotic SIFs refractory to conservative management. The study patients experienced significant relief of pain and increased mobility.Key words: Sacrum, sacroplasty, insufficiency fractures, osteoporosis, minimally invasive surgery.