Rejected

Low back pain, radicular leg pain, and lumbar spinal stenosis are the most common of all chronic pain disorders. Discogenic pain is related to distress of annular fibers and tears, whereas spinal stenosis is related to reduction of the spinal canal dimensions and compression of the neural elements; radicular pain is mainly related to disc herniation and is initially managed conservatively. The percutaneous minimally invasive approach in discogenic and radicular pain is designed to reduce the volume of the nucleus pulposus in patients with failure of medical and physical treatment prolonged for at least 6 weeks.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a severe form of hemorrhagic fever caused by a virus of the genus Nairovirus. The amplifying hosts are various mammal species that remain asymptomatic. Humans are infected by tick bites or contact with animal blood. CCHF has a broad geographic distribution and is endemic in Africa, Asia (in particular the Middle East) and South East Europe. This area has expanded in recent years with two indigenous cases reported in Spain in 2016 and 2018. The incubation period is short with the onset of symptoms in generally less than a week. The initial symptoms are common to other infectious syndromes with fever, headache, myalgia and gastrointestinal symptoms. The hemorrhagic syndrome occurs during a second phase with sometimes major bleeding in and from the mucous membranes and the skin. Strict barrier precautionary measures are required to prevent secondary and nosocomial spread. CCHF may be documented by PCR detection of the virus genome during the first days after the onset of illness, and then by serological testing for IgM antibodies as from the 2nd week after infection. Patient management is mainly based on supportive care. Despite a few encouraging retrospective reports, there is no confirmed evidence that supports the use of ribavirin for curative treatment. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization continues to recommend the use of ribavirin to treat CCHF, considering the limited medical risk related to short-term treatment. The prescription of ribavirin should however be encouraged post-exposure for medical professionals, to prevent secondary infection.

Phthalimide analogues devoid of the glutarimide moiety exhibit multiple biological activities, thus making them candidates for the treatment of patients with different diseases, including those with inflammatory and painful disorders. In the present study, the activities of five phthalimide analogues devoid of the glutarimide moiety (N-hydroxyphthalimide, N-hydroxymethylphthalimide, N-3-hydroxypropylphthalimide, N-carboxy-3-methylphthalimide, N-carboxymethyl-3-nitrophthalimide) were evaluated in experimental models of acute and chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain.

Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD) is a rare inflammatory condition affecting segments of the colon with diverticular disease. We present an 85-year-old woman with flank pain, fevers, and chills found on imaging to have left colonic wall thickening and left-sided hydroureteronephrosis and workup confirming a diagnosis of SCAD. A detailed review of SCAD and discussion of the differential diagnosis are provided. This case emphasizes disease-specific clinical pearls and highlights hydroureteronephrosis as a rare complication seen in a patient with SCAD.

Migraineurs have been identified to have chronically decreased serotonin levels while its concentrations markedly increase during ictal periods. Regarding the importance of adequate tryptophan intake in regulating serotonin homeostasis and subsequent effect on migraine attacks, we designed the current study. The migraine group (n = 514, diagnosed according to the ICHDIII criteria) was recruited from a tertiary headache clinic. The controls consisted of 582 sex-matched healthy volunteers who were randomly selected from general population. After collecting demographic and anthropometric data, a validated 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used for dietary intake assessments. Multiple regression models were applied to explore the relationship between migraine and tryptophan intake. The mean (SD) of the age of participants in the controls and migraine group was 44.85 (13.84) and 36.20 (9.78) years, respectively. The multiple regression models were adjusted for age (year), sex, body mass index (BMI) (kg/m), total daily energy intake (kcal/day), dietary intakes of total carbohydrates (g/day), animal-based protein (g/day), plant-based protein (g/day), total fat (g/day), saturated fat (g/day), and cholesterol (mg/day). It was shown that there is a negative association between tryptophan intake and migraine risk ((OR in the 3rd quartile = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.25-0.85) (OR in the 4th quartile = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.16-0.98) compared with the first quartile; P for trend = 0.045). Therefore, our results showed that subjects who had a median intake of 0.84-1.06 g of tryptophan per day had reduced odds of developing migraine by approximately 54-60%, relative to those consumed ≤ 0.56 g/day.

This article presents a retrospective analysis of patients who attended a rheumatology specialist practice (with two specialist rheumatologists) between 2016 and 2018 via an appointment arranged by the appointment service office (Terminservicestelle, TSS). Patients were analyzed in a pseudonymized manner and categorized according to the following criteria: 1. patient did not keep the appointment, 2. patient had no inflammatory rheumatic disease, 3. patient suffered from an inflammatory rheumatic disease but had no urgent indications to be seen and 4. patient suffered from an inflammatory rheumatic disease with urgent indications to be seen. Since the start of the TSS at the beginning of 2016 until the end of 2018 a total of 103 patients were allocated to this specialist practice via the TSS. An appointment was offered to 102 patients who underwent further analysis: 4.9% of the patients (n = 5) suffered from an acute inflammatory rheumatic disease and had urgent indications to be seen, 18.63% of patients (n = 19) suffered from an inflammatory rheumatic disease with no urgent indications to attend, 28.43% of patients (n = 29) did not keep the appointment and 48.04% of patients (n = 49) did not have an inflammatory rheumatic disease but other diseases, such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and other forms of chronic pain syndromes. The positive predictive value (PPV) for patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease and urgent indications was 0.05 when all patients were included in the analysis and 0.07 when only patients who showed up were included. This retrospective analysis demonstrates that the TSS does not fulfill its purpose, namely to promptly arrange appointments at a specalist rheumatologist practice for patients with an acute inflammatory rheumatic disease.

Outcomes of total ankle replacement for the treatment of end-stage ankle arthritis continue to improve. Debate continues whether a mobile-bearing total ankle replacement (MB-TAR) or a fixed-bearing total ankle replacement (FB-TAR) is superior, with successful outcomes reported long term for MB-TAR and at intermediate- to long-term follow-up for newer generation FB-TAR. Although comparisons between the 2 total ankle designs have been reported, to our knowledge, no investigation has compared the 2 designs with a high level of evidence. This prospective, randomized controlled trial conducted at a single institution compares patient satisfaction, functional outcomes, and radiographic results of the mobile-bearing STAR and the fixed-bearing Salto-Talaris in the treatment of end-stage ankle arthritis.

Risk of long-term opioid use among patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), who experience pain that substantially impairs quality of life, is unknown to date.

A multi-morbidity perspective of troublesome low back pain (LBP) has been highlighted for example in relation to respiratory disorders. Our purpose was to investigate whether respiratory disorders are risk factors for reporting troublesome LBP in people with no or occasional LBP at baseline.

A neurological consultation is needed in nearly 45% of patients suffering from cancer. The present study was planned to evaluate the clinical, radiological and histopathological spectrum of patients with an underlying malignancy and presenting with a neurological complaint.