Articles: pain-management.
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It is well established that the experience of chronic pain significantly differs among ethnic-racial groups. There is mixed evidence to suggest that societal influences may contribute to pain prevalence among cultural groups and their treatment response. One possible explanation for differences in pain experience are the differences in socioeconomic status among patients with chronic pain. ⋯ The results of our study show that there are no differences in pain perception or treatment responses in patients from different socioeconomic statuses despite differences among groups in age, BMI, race, utilization of opioid medications, and MME at first visit. Patients at this pain practice appear to have been treated with similar modalities regardless of socioeconomic status.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of prognostic scoring systems to predict durable pain relief after microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia.
Microvascular decompression (MVD) is an effective treatment for trigeminal neuralgia, but pain recurs in a substantial minority of patients. Two recently published scoring systems by Hardaway et al. and Panczykowski et al. use simple preoperative clinical and imaging features to predict durable pain relief following MVD, but their predictive performance has not been independently validated. This study aimed to compare predictive performance of the Hardaway et al. score (HS) and Panczykowski et al. score (PS) for 1-year, 3-year, and long-term pain-free outcomes after MVD for trigeminal neuralgia. ⋯ PS is superior to HS in predicting pain-free outcomes after MVD, which may aid in patient selection and counseling. Overall, more significant neurovascular compression of the trigeminal nerve root, and to a lesser extent classical paroxysmal pain, are good predictors of durable pain relief after MVD.
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Restoration of height or angle has been reported following vertebroplasty (VP). The purpose of the study was to investigate the predictive value of the preoperative lateral fulcrum radiograph (LFR) of success in one-level VP for painful osteoporotic vertebral fracture. ⋯ LFR can help with evaluation for pseudarthrosis and the restoration effect of VP. VP had better immediate restoration of VWA and AVBH and better final VWA maintenance.
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Temporomandibular disease (TMD) is a general term including a group of conditions that cause pain and dysfunction in the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and their related structures. The painful forms of these dysfunctions have become an increasing phenomenon among dental patients. A number of scientific publications indicated the relationship between the presence of postural dysfunctions and functional disorders of the masticatory system in humans. Nevertheless, dental procedures still very rarely include comprehensive diagnostics and procedures aimed at the normalization of the locomotor system related to TMD. Scientific literature usually refers to and describes the coexistence of postural disorders in patients with TMD in the context of anatomical connections, the so-called biokinematic chains, indicating specific types of postures that correlate with different positions of the mandible and/or teeth. ⋯ Diagnostic and therapeutic management in the course of TMD should be holistic. Nevertheless, the observed changes are often varied and largely dependent on individual posture defects, which is an important postulate for further research on a larger study group.