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The efficacy and safety of epidural morphine/hydromorphone in the treatment of intractable postherpetic neuralgia: A single-center, double-blinded, randomized controlled, prospective, and non-inferiority study.

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a clinical puzzle, especially in patients who still suffered from moderate and severe pain after standard treatment. This single-center, double-blinded, randomized controlled, prospective, and non-inferiority study observed the safety and effectiveness of the epidural application of morphine or hydromorphone, trying to provide an alternative method for those patients with refractory PHN. Eighty PHN patients with a visual analogue scale (VAS) still greater than 50 mm after routine management were randomly divided into two groups according to 1:1, respectively. One group received epidural morphine (EMO group), and the other group received epidural hydromorphone (EHM group). VAS, the number of breakthrough pain, quality of life (QOL), and anxiety/depression assessment (GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores) were also observed before treatment, at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 60, and 90 days after treatment, as well as side effects. Opioid withdrawal symptoms (OWSs) were also measured from 3 to 28 days after treatment. The EHM group was non-inferior to the EMO group in terms of the VAS decrease relative to baseline (VDRB) after 1-week treatment. The VAS of the two groups on all days after treatment was significantly lower than the corresponding baseline findings ( < 0.05). The breakthrough pain (BTP) decreased significantly after treatment and lasted until 14 days after treatment ( < 0.05). There was no significant difference in BTP between the two groups at each time point ( > 0.05). In terms of the QOL, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 outcomes, those were significantly improved after treatment ( < 0.05), and there was no difference between the two groups ( > 0.05). No significant AE difference across the two groups was observed in this study. Few reports of OWS were found in this trial, and there were no significant differences between the two groups ( > 0.05). EHM was non-inferior to EMO in terms of the VDRB after 1-week treatment. For patients with VAS still greater than 50 mm after standard treatment, short-term application of EMO or EHM can ameliorate intractable pain, improve the quality of life, and have no obvious side effects. Short-term epidural opioid application will not lead to the appearance of OWS.

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Sex comparisons in physiological and cognitive performance during hypoxic challenge.

Within the tactical aviation community, human performance research lags in considering potential psychophysiological differences between male and female aviators due to little inclusion of females during the design and development of aircraft systems. A poor understanding of how male and female aviators differ with respect to human performance results in unknown potential sex differences on aeromedically relevant environmental stressors, perchance leading to suboptimal performance, safety, and health guidelines. For example, previous hypoxia studies have excluded female participants or lacked a sizeable sample to examine sex comparisons. As such, progress toward sensor development and improving hypoxia familiarization training are stunted due to limited knowledge of how individual differences, including sex, may or may not underlie hypoxia symptoms and performance impairment. Investigating sex differences bridges the gap between aerospace medicine and operational health, and addressing hypoxia is one of many facets yet to be studied. In the current study, we retrospectively examined N = 6 hypoxia studies with male-female participant samples (total, N = 189; male, = 118; female, = 71). We explored sex as a predictor of physiological response, sensory deficits, the severity of cognitive performance declines, and symptom manifestation linear and binary logistic regression models. We found that the female sex predicted lower peripheral oxygen saturation and the likelihood of headache reporting in response to hypoxic challenge, yet explained little variance when combined with age and body mass index. The sensory and cognitive performance models did not converge, suggesting high intra-individual variability. Together, sex, age, and body mass index were not the most robust predictors in responses to hypoxic challenge; we cannot infer this for sensory deficits and cognitive performance within an experimentally induced hypoxic environment. The findings have implications for improving hypoxia familiarization training, monitoring sensor development, and emergency response and recovery protocols in case of a hypoxia occurrence suitable for all aircrew. We recommend continuing to elucidate the impact of sex and intrapersonal differences in hypoxia and other aeromedically relevant stressors in tactical aviation.

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Racial Differences in 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D and Self-Reported Pain Severity in a Sample of Individuals Living with Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain.

Considerable evidence suggests that there are significant ethnic/racial differences in the experience of pain among individuals suffering from chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Additionally, low levels of vitamin D have been associated with pain severity. Further, vitamin D deficiency is more prevalent in Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) individuals compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW).

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Effect of rapid rehabilitation nursing on inflammation and liver function after laparoscopic radical resection of primary liver cancer.

To explore the effect of rapid rehabilitation nursing on inflammation and liver function in patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) after laparoscopic radical resection.

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Clinical characteristics and management of headache in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Headache is frequently reported as a neurological manifestation of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythaemia. This study sought to clarify the clinical characteristics and response to treatment of headaches in patients with MPNs.

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[Questionnaire of the Ryzhikh National Medical Research Centre for Coloproctology is a new tool for assessing chronic pelvic pain and pelvic organ dysfunction].

The article presents the work of a multidisciplinary team of experts from various fields of medicine to optimize the «Questionnaire for assessing chronic pelvic pain and pelvic organ dysfunction (QCPPD) of the Ryzhikh National Medical Research Centre for Coloproctology» for use in clinical practice. The survey of respondents was conducted from June 28 to September 28, 2021. As a result of this survey, by repeatedly making edits and clarifications during communication with respondents, the final version was obtained, which allows assessing the patient's subjective sensations by the nature and localization of pelvic pain, sensitivity disorders and pelvic organ function. The main objective of this Questionnaire is to differentiate patients with neurogenic pain from a huge number of patients with chronic pelvic pain. This aspect will allow a more targeted approach to the diagnosis and pathogenetically justified treatment of patients, including after appropriate instrumental examinations. The work of a multidisciplinary team implies a higher degree of objectification and terminological accuracy of the Questionnaire under discussion. The presented version of the «Questionnaire for assessing chronic pelvic pain and pelvic organ dysfunction (QCPPD) of the Ryzhikh National Medical Research Centre for Coloproctology» will be primarily used in coloproctological patients with pelvic pain problems and anal incontinence and obstructive defecation. Further studies will be directed to the clinical evaluation of the results of the work carried out.

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Efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on chronic migraine: A meta-analysis.

Migraine is a neurovascular disorder that affects the quality of life of more than 1 billion people worldwide. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a neuromodulation tool that uses pulsed magnetic fields to modulate the cerebral cortex. This meta-analysis ascertained the therapeutic or preventive effect of rTMS on chronic migraine.

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Does time to surgery for traumatic hip fracture impact the efficacy of fascia iliaca blocks? A brief report.

Outcomes after traumatic hip fracture have shown to be significantly improved with timely surgical management. This study determined whether there were differences in efficacy of fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) on pain outcomes in patients with hip fracture, once stratified by time to surgery.

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Epstein-barr Virus Negative Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma Developed after Treatment of Glioblastoma: A Case Report.

Temozolomide is an oral alkylating agent with moderate side effects compared to other agents. However, the development of secondary malignancies following temozolomide has been reported. We describe the first case of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) occurrence following glioblastoma treatment. A 69-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with a chief complaint of headache and dysnomia for six months. A ring-enhanced mass of the left temporal lobe was observed and gross total removal was performed. The tumor was pathologically diagnosed as isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype glioblastoma and he received 60 Gy of local irradiation in 30 fractions, with concurrent temozolomide at a dose of 75 mg/m. Grade 2 lymphopenia was discovered during treatment. Within 6 months, the patient developed a right parietal intra-axial tumor without local recurrence and was given 150-200 mg/m oral temozolomide for five consecutive days of a 28-day cycle. Within five cycles of temozolomide, complete remission was observed; however, after the eighth cycle, a new lesion in the right temporal lobe was discovered. Surgical removal was performed and histological findings were consistent with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and the final diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus negative PCNSL was established.

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The efficacy and safety of remifentanil patient-controlled versus epidural analgesia in labor: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia (rPCA) and epidural analgesia (EA) has been used for pain relief in labor. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rPCA versus EA in labor, to provide evidence support for clinical analgesia and pain care.

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