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Surgical treatment of non-insertional achilles tendinitis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Noninsertional Achilles tendinitis is a distinct clinical entity, frequently characterized by swelling, pain, and lower limb dysfunction. This condition can be frustrating to treat, for the patient and the physician alike, as reflected in the various treatments, both conservative and surgical, that have been described. Although many patients with Achilles tendinitis can be successfully treated with nonoperative methods, persistent symptoms require surgical treatment, such as tenotomy, debridement, or repair. PMID: 19857839 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - October 29, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Murphy GA Tags: Foot Ankle Clin Source Type: journals

Double-pass, low-fluence laser treatment using a large spot-size 1,450 nm laser improves acne.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Low-energy, double pass 1,450 nm laser treatment with a larger 12 mm-diameter spot size effectively reduces acne counts 2 months post-treatment. Lasers Surg. Med. 41:116-121, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. PMID: 19226573 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - February 18, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Bernstein EF Tags: Lasers Surg Med Source Type: journals

Treatment of traumatic scars using plasma skin regeneration (PSR) system.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Plasma treatment is clinically effective and is associated with minimal complications when used to treat traumatic scars in Asian patients. However, deep traumatic scars are resistant to plasma treatment. Lasers Surg. Med. 41:128-130, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. PMID: 19226574 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - February 18, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Kono T, Groff WF, Sakurai H, Yamaki T, Soejima K, Nozaki M Tags: Lasers Surg Med Source Type: journals

The economic burden of fibromyalgia: comparative analysis with rheumatoid arthritis *Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The burden of illness in FM is substantial and comparable to RA. Patients with FM incurred direct costs approximately equal to RA patients. Patients with FM had more ED, physician, and physical therapy visits than RA patients. Patients in both groups had several comorbidities. Patients with FM+RA incurred direct costs almost double those of the patients with either diagnosis alone. FM and RA patients incurred similar overall absence and short-term disability costs. PMID: 19220165 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - February 17, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Silverman S, Dukes EM, Johnston SS, Brandenburg NA, Sadosky A, Huse DM Tags: Curr Med Res Opin Source Type: journals

Therapeutic development in cardiac syndrome x: a need to target the underlying pathophysiology.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Morbidity of patients with cardiac syndrome X (typical anginal-like chest pain and normal coronary arteriogram) is high with continuing episodes of chest pain and frequent hospital readmissions. Management of this syndrome represents a major challenge for the treating physician. Conventional therapies with antianginal agents such as nitrates, calcium channel antagonists, classic beta-adrenoceptor blockers and nicorandil have been tried, with variable success. However, this might be related to a failure to target the underlying pathophysiology and, clearly, more effective therapies are needed. Supporting evidence for th...
Source: Pain Physician - February 13, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Lim TK, Choy AJ, Khan F, Belch JJ, Struthers AD, Lang CC Tags: Cardiovasc Ther Source Type: journals

Separate and unequal: clinics where minority and nonminority patients receive primary care.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Clinics serving higher proportions of minority patients have more challenging workplace and organizational characteristics. PMID: 19204215 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - February 9, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Varkey AB, Manwell LB, Williams ES, Ibrahim SA, Brown RL, Bobula JA, Horner-Ibler BA, Schwartz MD, Konrad TR, Wiltshire JC, Linzer M, Tags: Arch Intern Med Source Type: journals

Diagnosis of a Facial Artery Pseudoaneurysm Using Emergency Bedside Ultrasound.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Although pseudoaneurysms of the head and neck are rare, a history of trauma should prompt the consideration of a vascular injury with the need for imaging before drainage procedures of a presumed abscess. To our knowledge, the use of clinician-performed bedside ultrasound to detect facial artery pseudoaneurysms has never been reported. PMID: 19201133 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - February 5, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Jenq KY, Panebianco NL, Lee PA, Chen EH, Dean AJ Tags: J Emerg Med Source Type: journals

Comparison of Economic Impact of Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome and Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Both CP/CPPS and IC/PBS have very similar and substantial direct and indirect costs. The greater costs reflected by the non-Medicare rates may more accurately reflect the true costs, given that a large proportion of these patients were <65 years old. PMID: 19193408 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - February 2, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Clemens JQ, Markossian T, Calhoun EA Tags: Urology Source Type: journals

Randomized Controlled Treatment Trial of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with a Probiotic E.-coli Preparation (DSM17252) Compared to Placebo.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Treatment of IBS with the probiotic Symbioflor-2 is effective and superior to placebo in reducing typical symptoms of IBS patients seen by general practitioners and by gastroenterologists. PMID: 19197823 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - February 1, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Enck P, Zimmermann K, Menke G, Klosterhalfen S Tags: Z Gastroenterol Source Type: journals

Acute pain management efficiency improves with point-of-care handheld electronic billing system.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of POC electronic billing using PDAs to replace a paper-based billing system improved the collection rate and decreased the number of charge lag days with a positive return on investment. The handheld PDA billing system provided POC support for physicians during their daily clinical (e.g., patient locations, rounding lists) and billing activities, improving workflow. PMID: 19151292 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - January 22, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Fahy BG Tags: Anesth Analg Source Type: journals

Management of heartburn not responding to proton pump inhibitors.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) who are not responding to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) given once daily are very common. Various underlying mechanisms have been shown to contribute to the failure of PPI treatment. These include weakly acidic reflux, duodenogastro-oesophageal reflux, residual acid reflux and functional heartburn, as well as others. Diagnostic evaluation of patients with GORD who have failed PPI treatment may include an upper endoscopy, pH testing and oesophageal impedance with pH monitoring. Commonly, doubling the PPI dose or switching to another PPI will be pursued by the treati...
Source: Pain Physician - January 14, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Fass R, Sifrim D Tags: Gut Source Type: journals

Spontaneous isolated dissection of the abdominal aorta: single-center experience.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We report a single-center experience with 6 patients with acute isolated abdominal aortic dissection managed during a period of 7 years. The patients' median age was 62 years and they were predominantly male. All patients presented acutely with abdominal pain, one with hypovolemic shock due to aortic rupture, two with acute lower limb ischemia and one with buttock necrosis. Interestingly, one major symptom was astasia observed in four patients that resolved postoperatively. Computed tomography scan of the thoracic and abdominal aorta was the main diagnostic tool in all patients. Treatment consisted of open repair in three ...
Source: Pain Physician - January 9, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Mantelas M, Antonitsis P, Kaitzis D, Hatzibaloglou A, Moros I Tags: Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg Source Type: journals

"When will I recover?" A national survey on patients' and physicians' expectations concerning the recovery time for acute back pain.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objective of this study was to compare patients' and physicians' expectations concerning the recovery time for acute back pain, and their determinants. A French national observational survey was performed between October and December 2005. Each physician was asked to include the first three patients aged between 20 and 70 years presenting with acute back pain (VAS > 40 mm) of less than 1 month's duration. A total number of 1982 patients, with a mean age of 48.4 +/- 11.8 years (52.2% men), were enrolled by 834 physicians. Patients and their physicians expected recovery to take the same amount of time in 60.3% of case...
Source: Pain Physician - January 9, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Perrot S, Allaert FA, Concas V, Laroche F Tags: Eur Spine J Source Type: journals

Physical characteristics of the back are not predictive of low back pain in healthy workers: A prospective study.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that, in a population of young workers with no or limited antecedents of LBP at baseline, physical examinations, as routinely assessed in occupational medicine, are not useful to predict workers at risk for the development of back disorders one year later. PMID: 19123931 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - January 5, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Van Nieuwenhuyse A, Crombez G, Burdorf A, Verbeke G, Masschelein R, Moens G, Mairiaux P Tags: BMC Musculoskelet Disord Source Type: journals

Patient-physician communication: informed consent for imaging-guided spinal injections.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: The diagram method required less time than the teach-the-teacher method, had no negative correlation in survey score results with age, and had improved patient-physician communication over the control group. PMID: 19111270 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - January 1, 2009 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Bennett DL, Dharia CV, Ferguson KJ, Okon AE Tags: J Am Coll Radiol Source Type: journals

Self-medication in older urban mexicans : an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Self-medication in older adults is a problem that should be carefully addressed in public health policies. Surveys such as the present one are easy to carry out (and could conveniently be conducted in primary care settings), rapidly yield information about the true nature of self-medication in local populations, and provide a basis on which to design future interventions. Factors associated with self-medication in this study, including both socioeconomic characteristics (e.g. most self-medicators were poorly educated or lived alone) and therapeutic considerations (e.g. substantial proportions of patients self-m...
Source: Pain Physician - December 26, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Balbuena FR, Aranda AB, Figueras A Tags: Drugs Aging Source Type: journals

Health Coaching via an Internet Portal for Primary Care Patients With Chronic Conditions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS:: Internet portal-based coaching produced some possible benefits in care for chronic conditions but without significantly changing patient outcomes. Limited sample sizes may have contributed to insignificant findings. Further research should explore ways internet portals may improve patient outcomes in primary care. ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT00130416. PMID: 19106729 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - December 26, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Leveille SG, Huang A, Tsai SB, Allen M, Weingart SN, Iezzoni LI Tags: Med Care Source Type: journals

The impact of viewing a hysteroscopy on a screen on the patient's experience: a randomised trial.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Viewing the screen does not benefit the patient and may interfere with the patient-physician interaction. PMID: 19076960 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - December 18, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Ogden J, Heinrich M, Potter C, Kent A, Jones S Tags: BJOG Source Type: journals

Diclofenac epolamine (flector((r))) patch : evidence for topical activity.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This review focuses on previously unpublished clinical and pharmacokinetic data with the diclofenac epolamine (diclofenac hydroxyethylpyrrolidine) patch supporting the hypothesis of a topical effect of this formulation. Previous studies have shown that 1 or 2 weeks of treatment with diclofenac epolamine provides pain relief for various localized musculoskeletal conditions such as ankle sprains, epicondylitis and knee osteoarthritis. The reduction in pain after application of the first patch in 155 patients with painful knee osteoarthritis was significant at the 1-hour time point and was superior to placebo at the 3-hou...
Source: Pain Physician - December 13, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Petersen B, Rovati S Tags: Clin Drug Investig Source Type: journals

Combining Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction risk score and clear-cut alternative diagnosis for chest pain risk stratification.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: The TIMI risk score stratifies patients with and without an alternative diagnosis. Unfortunately, patients with both a low TIMI risk score and a clinical impression of an alternative noncardiac diagnosis still have a risk of 30-day adverse events that is not low enough to allow safe discharge from the ED. PMID: 19041531 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - December 3, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Campbell CF, Chang AM, Sease KL, Follansbee C, McCusker CM, Shofer FS, Hollander JE Tags: Am J Emerg Med Source Type: journals

Sex differences in patients seeking medical attention for prodromal symptoms before an acute coronary event.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: A small proportion of patients with ACS seek medical attention for prodromal symptoms in the 90 days before ACS. Seeking help for these symptoms is associated with improved survival in women but not in men. PMID: 19033022 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 29, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Graham MM, Westerhout CM, Kaul P, Norris CM, Armstrong PW Tags: Am Heart J Source Type: journals

An Introduction to Medical Malpractice in the United States.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Medical malpractice law in the United States is derived from English common law, and was developed by rulings in various state courts. Medical malpractice lawsuits are a relatively common occurrence in the United States. The legal system is designed to encourage extensive discovery and negotiations between adversarial parties with the goal of resolving the dispute without going to jury trial. The injured patient must show that the physician acted negligently in rendering care, and that such negligence resulted in injury. To do so, four legal elements must be proven: (1) a professional duty owed to the patient; (2) brea...
Source: Pain Physician - November 26, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Bal BS Tags: Clin Orthop Relat Res Source Type: journals

Role of psychiatric comorbidity in chronic Lyme disease.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Psychiatric comorbidity and other psychological factors distinguished CLD patients from other patients commonly seen in Lyme disease referral centers, and were related to poor functional outcomes. PMID: 19035409 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 26, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Hassett AL, Radvanski DC, Buyske S, Savage SV, Gara M, Escobar JI, Sigal LH Tags: Arthritis Rheum Source Type: journals

An 8-yr follow-up of Arthritis Self-Management Programme participants.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions. Long-term maintenance of self-efficacy, psychological well-being and self-management techniques may be possible following attendance on the ASMP. The need for additional psychological support for those who are having difficulty adjusting to their condition and its consequences is highlighted. PMID: 19036778 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 26, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Barlow J, Turner A, Swaby L, Gilchrist M, Wright C, Doherty M Tags: Rheumatology (Oxford) Source Type: journals

The epidemiology and medical management of low back pain during ambulatory medical care visits in the United States.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of LBP visits provided by primary care physicians in the United States remains suboptimal. Medical management of LBP, particularly chronic LBP, appears to over-utilize surgery relative to more conservative measures such as patient counseling, non-narcotic analgesics, and other drug therapies. Osteopathic physicians are more likely to provide LBP care, and less likely to use NSAIDs during such visits, than their allopathic counterparts. In general, LBP medical management does not appear to be in accord with evidence-based guidelines. PMID: 19025636 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 24, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Licciardone JC Tags: Osteopath Med Prim Care Source Type: journals

A randomized clinical trial for women with vulvodynia: Cognitive-behavioral therapy vs. supportive psychotherapy.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Many treatments used for women with vulvodynia are based solely upon expert opinion. This randomized trial aimed to test the relative efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and supportive psychotherapy (SPT) in women with vulvodynia. Of the 50 participants, 42 (84%) completed 10-week treatments and 47 (94%) completed one-year follow-up assessments. Mixed effects modeling was used to make use of all available data. Participants had statistically significant decreases in pain severity (p's<0.001) with 42% of the overall sample achieving clinical improvement. CBT, relative to SPT, resulted in significantly grea...
Source: Pain Physician - November 18, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Masheb RM, Kerns RD, Lozano C, Minkin MJ, Richman S Tags: Pain Source Type: journals

A multi-country outbreak of fungal keratitis associated with a brand of contact lens solution: the Hong Kong experience.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Using B&L ReNu contact lens solution was strongly associated with Fusarium keratitis among disposable contact lens users in Hong Kong. B&L ReNu with MoistureLoc((R)) was permanently withdrawn from the market globally in May 2006. PMID: 19019715 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 17, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Ma SK, So K, Chung PH, Tsang HF, Chuang SK Tags: Int J Infect Dis Source Type: journals

Bone metastases mimicking Complex Regional Pain Syndrome I: a case report.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Even if the clinical picture resembles Complex Regional Pain Syndrome I, the differential diagnosis must be evaluated carefully. PMID: 19014624 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 17, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Huggler M, Kissling R, Brunner F Tags: J Med Case Reports Source Type: journals

Clinical Presentation of a Traumatic Cervical Spine Disc Rupture in Alpine Sports- A Case Report.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We report on the case of a 28-year-old patient being admitted to our emergency department after a snowboarding accident, with an assumed hyperflexion injury of the cervical spine. During the initial clinical encounter the only clinical finding the patient demonstrated, was a burning sensation in the palms bilaterally. No neck pain could be elicited and the patient was not intoxicated and did not have distracting injuries. Since the patient described a fall prevention attempt with both arms, a peripheral nerve contusion was considered as a differential diagnosis. However, a high level of suspicion and the use of sophisticat...
Source: Pain Physician - November 12, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Ecker TM, Kleinschmidt M, Martinolli L, Zimmermann H, Exadaktylos AK Tags: Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med Source Type: journals

Pharmacy customers' knowledge of side effects of purchased medicines in Mexico.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion The overall majority of customers did not know that medicines they bought could be harmful. This is particularly alarming because they frequently used POM without consulting a physician. PMID: 19017308 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 12, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Wirtz VJ, Taxis K, Dreser A Tags: Trop Med Int Health Source Type: journals

Yoga for Veterans with Chronic Low-Back Pain.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Preliminary data suggest that a yoga intervention for VA patients with chronic back pain may improve the health of veterans. However, the limitations of a pre-post study design make conclusions tentative. A larger randomized, controlled trial of the yoga program is planned. PMID: 18991515 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - November 8, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Groessl EJ, Weingart KR, Aschbacher K, Pada L, Baxi S Tags: J Altern Complement Med Source Type: journals

Mammography screening: views from women and primary care physicians in Crete.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Women are inhibited from participating in mammography screening in rural Crete. The provision of more accessible screening services may improve this. However physician recommendation is important in overcoming women's inhibitions. Primary care physicians serving rural areas need to be aware of barriers preventing women from attending mammography screening and provide women with information and advice in a sensitive way so women can make informed decisions regarding breast caner screening. KEY WORDS: Breast neoplasms; mammography; mass screening; Greece; health knowledge, attitudes, practice. PMID: 18990253 ...
Source: Pain Physician - November 7, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Trigoni M, Griffiths F, Tsiftsis D, Koumantakis E, Green E, Lionis C Tags: BMC Womens Health Source Type: journals

From the Ouchless Place to Comfort Central: the evolution of a concept.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Although the past 20 years have yielded an outpouring of research on pain management in children, this information is often not applied uniformly to children in the hospital. To address this deficiency, we developed a systematic institution-wide program to reduce pain in all children in the hospital. Our goal was to create a setting in which attention to pain control and comfort measures would be inherent in all inpatient encounters. We labeled the inpatient unit in which this concept evolved as the "Ouchless Place" and described the program and its development in a 1997 Pediatrics article. In this article we describe ...
Source: Pain Physician - November 1, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Schechter NL Tags: Pediatrics Source Type: journals

On the front lines: lessons learned in implementing multidisciplinary peripheral venous access pain-management programs in pediatric hospitals.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Venipuncture and intravenous cannulation are among the most common and widespread medical procedures performed on children today. Therefore, effective treatment of venous access pain can benefit from an integrated systems approach that enlists multiple players in the health care system. By using case studies that analyze this issue from the perspective of the nurse, the physician, the pharmacist, and the child life specialist, this article illustrates how multidisciplinary programs designed to manage needle pain have been developed successfully in several institutions. Common themes that arise from these case studies i...
Source: Pain Physician - November 1, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Leahy S, Kennedy RM, Hesselgrave J, Gurwitch K, Barkey M, Millar TF Tags: Pediatrics Source Type: journals

Impact of physician-patient discussions on patient satisfaction.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Physician-patient discussions of BC treatment outcomes were highly correlated with patients' satisfaction with overall MC regardless of the procedure received. This suggests that the quality of BC care should include assessments of physician-patient communication. PMID: 18953226 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - October 29, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Chen JY, Tao ML, Tisnado D, Malin J, Ko C, Timmer M, Adams JL, Ganz PA, Kahn KL Tags: Med Care Source Type: journals

The relationship between enthesitis indices and disease activity parameters in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were assessed both by patient and physician using two enthesitis indices and the relationship between these indices and disease activity parameters was investigated. The study involved 100 AS patients. The patients were evaluated with 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS) for spinal pain (VAS-S), peripheral joint pain (VAS-P), global assessment of patient, and global assessment of doctor. In the laboratory evaluations, the erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) and serum C-reactive protein levels of the patients were determined. Bath AS disease activity index (BASDAI), Bath...
Source: Pain Physician - October 24, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Sivas F, Mermerci Başkan B, Erkol İnal E, Akbulut Aktekin L, Barça N, Ozoran K, Bodur H Tags: Clin Rheumatol Source Type: journals

Fibroma with minor sex cord elements: a case report and review.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: Clinical manifestations of a hyperestrogenic state in postmenopausal female should raise suspicion of this entity in the mind of a physician. Also a thorough evaluation of an ovarian fibroma would help detection of minor sex cord elements within the tumor and thus be a stepping stone for better evaluation of the pathogenesis and clinical behaviour of these tumors. A close follow up of the patient should be done as hyperestrogenemia may predispose to endometrial cancer. PMID: 18947409 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - October 23, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Kawatra V, Gupta P, Khurana N Tags: Cases J Source Type: journals

Treatment of Sinus Headache as Migraine: The Diagnostic Utility of Triptans.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS:: This study demonstrated that the demographics of patients with self-described "sinus headaches" who did not have findings of sinusitis on endoscopy and CT scan closely reflected the demographics of patients afflicted with migraines. It also showed that 82% of these patients had a significant response to empiric treatment for sinus headaches with triptans. These findings support that "sinus headaches" may represent migraines, and response to triptans may aid in diagnosis. PMID: 18948830 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - October 22, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Kari E, Delgaudio JM Tags: Laryngoscope Source Type: journals

Frequency of stress testing to document ischemia prior to elective percutaneous coronary intervention.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: The majority of Medicare patients with stable coronary artery disease do not have documentation of ischemia by noninvasive testing prior to elective PCI. PMID: 18854538 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - October 15, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Lin GA, Dudley RA, Lucas FL, Malenka DJ, Vittinghoff E, Redberg RF Tags: JAMA Source Type: journals

The Effects of Emergency Department Staff Rounding On Patient Safety and Satisfaction.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Rounding in the ED reception and treatment areas is effective and improves outcomes. Further research should determine the optimal design for rounding considering the mixed shifts in EDs, seek ways to increase communicating delays to patients, and investigate how to integrate rounding with physician activities. PMID: 18842381 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - October 7, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Meade CM, Kennedy J, Kaplan J Tags: J Emerg Med Source Type: journals

Complementary and alternative medicine use and cost in functional bowel disorders: a six month prospective study in a large HMO.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSION: CAM is used by one-third of FBD patients. CAM use does not seem to be driven by dissatisfaction with conventional care. Physicians should discuss CAM use and effectiveness with their patients and refer patients if appropriate. PMID: 18652682 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - October 5, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: van Tilburg MA, Palsson OS, Levy RL, Feld AD, Turner MJ, Drossman DA, Whitehead WE Tags: BMC Complement Altern Med Source Type: journals

Anesthetic keratopathy after photorefractive keratectomy.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We report a case of anesthetic keratopathy after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and physician-prescribed topical anesthetic agents. After PRK for hyperopic correction, the patient was sent home with a bandage contact lens and instructions to use anesthetic eyedrops and take oral pain medications after surgery. During the first postoperative week, the eyes did not reepithelialize and bilateral perilimbal infiltrates developed. Cultures were negative and failed to clear with fortified antibiotic agents. On careful questioning, the patient admitted to instilling diluted tetracaine (0.05%) as needed in both eyes. She was in...
Source: Pain Physician - September 26, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Lee JK, Stark WJ Tags: J Cataract Refract Surg Source Type: journals

An unusual case of coccidioidomycosis presenting with skin lesions.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A 42-year-old white male without prior skin disease presented 8 months ago with chest pain, fever, and coughing to his primary physician. At that point, he had no skin lesions. The diagnosis was made by standard blood tests. The patient completed treatment and was symptom free for 8 months until he presented to his physician again with skin lesions on his right cheek and extremities. The patient was referred to our dermatology clinic for further evaluation. A complete skin examination revealed lesions on his face, extremities, and back. The lesions on his right face were 8 x 10-mm erythematous papules and nodules coale...
Source: Pain Physician - September 25, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Noor O, Rao M, Rao BK Tags: Am J Dermatopathol Source Type: journals

Monteggia 'fracture'-dislocation with bowing of the ulna: a pitfall for the unwary emergency physician.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We recently encountered a child who fell on the left outstretched hand. She complained of left elbow pain subsequently and radiographs showed a supposedly isolated radial head dislocation. This was spontaneously reduced when the left forearm was extended for another radiograph. She was discharged from the emergency department with her left elbow in a long backslab, but returned within half an hour with recurrence of the radial head dislocation without repeat trauma. Only when the radiograph was reviewed was a subtle plastic bowing deformity of the ulna seen. This proved the axiom, that in forearm parallel long bone inj...
Source: Pain Physician - September 13, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Goh SH Tags: Eur J Emerg Med Source Type: journals

Fibromyalgia: an update and immunological aspects.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is now understood as a chronic pain syndrome, and recent evidence indicates it is not a pure psychosomatic disorder. We review the current knowledge in FMS pain pathways, focusing on the central system sensitization phenomenon and the abnormalities in the inhibitory pain systems. Chronic headache is one of the most common symptoms in FMS, and better knowledge of their common pathophysiologic features can help us understand both conditions better. These features include the nerve growth factor actions and failure of the endocannabinoid system. In addition, we review new immunological aspects ...
Source: Pain Physician - September 5, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Paiva ES, Goldenberg Mariano da Costa ED, Scheinberg M Tags: Curr Pain Headache Rep Source Type: journals

Application of software design principles and debugging methods to an analgesia prescription reduces risk of severe injury from medical use of opioids.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other qualified practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient. Although the algorithmic nature of prescriptions is axiomatic, this insight has not been applied systematically to medication safety. We used software design principles and debugging methods to create a "Patient-oriented Prescription for Analgesia" (POPA), assessed the rate and extent of adoption of POPA by physicians, and conducted a statistical process control clinical trial and a subsidiary cohort analysis to evaluate whether POPA would...
Source: Pain Physician - September 1, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Belknap SM, Moore H, Lanzotti SA, Yarnold PR, Getz M, Deitrick DL, Peterson A, Akeson J, Maurer T, Soltysik RC, Storm GA, Brooks I Tags: Clin Pharmacol Ther Source Type: journals

Toothache pain: a comparison of visits to physicians, emergency departments and dentists.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Respondents experiencing toothache pain ultimately sought definitive resolution of their pain from dentists while visiting EDs and physicians for temporary relief. Access to dentists' services was particularly problematic for Hispanics and was exacerbated by health literacy issues. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The elimination of oral health disparities must involve consideration of cultural influences on minority populations, as well as the responsibilities of the dental profession. PMID: 18762631 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - September 1, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Cohen LA, Bonito AJ, Akin DR, Manski RJ, Macek MD, Edwards RR, Cornelius LJ Tags: J Am Dent Assoc Source Type: journals

Virtual patient training to improve reproductive health care for women with intellectual disabilities.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A multimedia virtual patient module, involving the case of a young woman with mild intellectual disabilities with a complaint of diffuse abdominal pain, was developed as a clinical training tool for students in health care professions. Primary objectives following use of the module included improved knowledge and reduced perception of difficulty in treating women's health patients with intellectual disabilities. The module was developed using an iterative, collaborative process of a core development team that included medical professionals, multimedia specialists, the parent of a child with intellectual disability, and...
Source: Pain Physician - September 1, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Boyd SE, Sanders CL, Kleinert HL, Huff MB, Lock S, Johnson S, Clevenger K, Bush NA, Van Dyke E, Clark TL Tags: J Midwifery Womens Health Source Type: journals

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty update.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are minimally invasive vertebral augmentation procedures in which a filler material is percutaneously injected into a vertebral body for the treatment of vertebral fractures associated with osteoporosis, malignant conditions, hemangiomas, and osteonecrosis. In vertebroplasty, the filler is injected directly into the bone, whereas in kyphoplasty, the filler is injected into a cavity created by inflation of a balloon tamp. The goals of treatment include pain relief, fracture stabilization, restoration of vertebral height, and strengthening of the vertebral body to reduce the risk of a futur...
Source: Pain Physician - August 31, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Lewiecki EM Tags: Curr Osteoporos Rep Source Type: journals

Anxiety, mood, and behavioral disorders among pediatric patients with juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DISCUSSION: There seems to be a high prevalence of anxiety disorders in patients with JPFS, and presence of anxiety disorder is associated with poorer physician-rated functioning. Future research should explore whether early anxiety symptoms are predictive of long-term functioning. PMID: 18716501 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Pain Physician)
Source: Pain Physician - August 23, 2008 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Kashikar-Zuck S, Parkins IS, Graham TB, Lynch AM, Passo M, Johnston M, Schikler KN, Hashkes PJ, Banez G, Richards MM Tags: Clin J Pain Source Type: journals