Rejected

A 72-year-old woman with a nontraumatic spinal cord injury developed eschar on her lower right back. An underlying abscess was identified, which upon surgical debridement left a large wound extending down to the hip bone. In addition, the hip suffered from chronic osteomyelitis and was exposed at the bottom of the wound. The wound was initially treated for 5 weeks with Manuka honey but deteriorated further. Next, micropore particle technology (MPPT) was used. It cleared the wound of necrotic tissue based on autolytic debridement and removed the soft tissue infection; over a 3-month period, the wound reduced 50% in volume. Treatment approach was changed to polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) and was applied as a gel once every second day to the wound. After 6 days, it was observed to cause tissue degeneration, disruption of the structure of the exposed bone, and the appearance of froth coming through the hip bone. A pain syndrome developed and the use of PHMB was terminated on day 10. After a wash-out period, the use of MPPT was reinitiated. Over the following 8 months, MPPT continued to control the infectious debris coming from the hip bone and promote healing without affecting the bone or causing side effects.

Opioid-based postoperative analgesia provides adequate analgesia with much adverse effects and immunosuppression. Dexmedetomidine and ketorolac have properties of opioid-sparing, antiinflammation, and immune protection.

To determine how many patients with chronic osteoarthritis pain respond to various non-surgical treatments.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of epidural dexmedetomidine and morphine in providing anesthesia during cesarean surgery and analgesia for post-cesarean pain relief when added to epidural ropivacaine. A total of 80 females at term scheduled for elective cesarean delivery were randomly assigned to two groups (n=40/group): In the morphine group (group M), patients received an epidural injection of 0.75% ropivacaine (12 ml) and morphine (2 mg) for surgical anesthesia, and epidural infusion of morphine (2 mg) in 100 ml 0.2% ropivacaine at 2 ml/h for 48-h post-operative analgesia; and in the morphine combined with dexmedetomidine group (group DM), patients received an epidural injection of 0.75% ropivacaine (12 ml) and morphine (2 mg) combined with dexmedetomidine (0.5 µg/kg) for surgical anesthesia, and epidural infusion of morphine (2 mg) and dexmedetomidine (200 µg) in 100 ml 0.2% ropivacaine at 2 ml/h for 48-h post-operative analgesia. The primary outcomes included blockade and analgesic effects, sedation and adverse reactions associated with the drugs. Neonatal outcome was also assessed by determining the Apgar score and umbilical cord blood analysis. There was no significant difference between the groups in the cephalad levels of sensory blockade at 20 min post-injection, or in muscle relaxation scores or pain intensity scores at rest or upon movement at 4, 12, 24 or 48 h post-injection (P>0.05). The maternal patients in the DM group experienced more complete motor blockade at 20 min post-injection, better sedation during surgery and following delivery, and less visceral pain caused by peritoneal traction during surgery and by uterine contraction after delivery, compared with those in group M (P<0.05). The patients in group M had a lower incidence and severity score of post-operative nausea than those in the DM group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of Apgar score or umbilical cord blood gas values (P>0.05). In conclusion, epidural dexmedetomidine reduces intra-operative and post-operative visceral pain and produces better sedation during surgery and following delivery, without any significant influence on morphine-associated side effects and post-operative analgesia, in females undergoing elective cesarean section under epidural anesthesia with morphine and ropivacaine (registration number ChiCTR1900027942; retrospectively registered with the Chinese Clinical Registry Center on December 6, 2019).

Investigate nociception differences in dogs undergoing enucleation administered bupivacaine either via preoperative retrobulbar block (pRB) or intraoperative splash block (iSB).

In November 2016, our institution switched from alfentanil to fentanyl for analgesia and sedation in adult patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. There is no published evidence comparing the use of alfentanil with fentanyl for sedation in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients. We conducted a retrospective observational study to explore any significant differences in patient outcomes or in the prescribing of adjunct sedatives before and after the switch.

Postdural puncture headache is a challenging complication of diagnostic, therapeutic, and unintentional lumbar puncture. Literature evidence supports cosyntropin as a viable noninvasive therapy for adults who have failed conservative management, but pediatric data is limited. The purpose of this retrospective chart review is to describe the use of intravenous cosyntropin for refractory pediatric postdural puncture headache at a single free-standing tertiary care pediatric hospital.

Corynebacterium simulans was first reported in 2000. Although it is a member of the normal skin flora, some cases of C. simulans infection have been reported. Other Corynebacterium spp. rarely cause chronic pyogenic spondylitis, and pyogenic spondylitis caused by C. simulans has not been reported at all. Here we report a case of acute pyogenic spondylitis due to C. simulans. A 78-year-old man with diabetes mellitus visited our hospital with a 3-day history of lower back pain and fever. Blood culture revealed C. simulans and magnetic resonance images of lumbar vertebrae showed pyogenic spondylitis. He recovered after treatment by vancomycin for 9 weeks and was discharged home. No recurrence has been observed for half a year. This is likely the first reported case of pyogenic spondylitis by C. simulans. In general, Corynebacterium spp. cause chronic pyogenic spondylitis, but this case showed an acute course.

Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-associated primary central nervous system lymphoma (ePCNSL) is increasingly recognized in immunocompromised subjects, including patients receiving systemic immunosuppressive therapy. Here, we report the first case of primary CNS lymphoma associated with EBV in a patient with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) receiving long-term mycophenolate mofetil (MMF).

To review monitors currently available for the assessment of nociception-antinociception in veterinary medicine.