Publications by authors named "Casser H"

Background: This article summarizes the results of the German guideline on radiofrequency denervation of the facet joints and the sacroiliac joint. Evidence on the indications, test blocks and technical parameters are presented.

Objective: The aim is to avoid overtreatment and undertreatment, which is also of socioeconomic importance.

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Study Design: Systematic review of the literature and subsequent meta-analysis for the development of a new guideline.

Objectives: This manuscript summarizes the recommendations from a new clinical guideline published by the German Spine Society. It covers the current evidence on recommendations regarding the indication, test blocks and use of radiofrequency denervation.

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Low back pain is not a diagnosis but a symptom of various causes. The differentiation between specific and non-specific low back pain is diagnostically difficult and only of limited help with regard to the further therapeutic procedure. A large proportion of the causes of low back pain are functional disorders that can be detected on the basis of clinical findings and not (or only insufficiently) by imaging procedures.

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The Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12) was added to the German Pain Questionnaire (DSF) as a self-report measure of health-related quality of life in 2016, replacing the previously used SF-12, which required a license. Both measures have 12 items and include a physical component summary (PCS) and a mental component summary (MCS). Evaluations with a larger sample on characteristic values and on the test-statistical goodness of the VR-12 in patients with chronic pain are so far missing.

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Based on health insurance data, approximately 37.4 million patients (46%) in Germany are diagnosed with "pain". The prevalence of patients with debilitating chronic pain is around 7.

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Health care provision for patients with pain and risk factors for chronicity is still insufficient and characterized in particular by over-, under- and misuse of existing approaches. The PAIN2020 project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Health Care (Innovationsfonds 01NVF17049) and aims to improve health care delivery for this group of patients by implementing an early ambulatory diagnostic approach by a pain specialist, resulting in an improvement in pain and restored or maintained function. A randomized clinical trial in 31 facilities Germany-wide will identify eligible patients and guide them into early specialized pain diagnostics.

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The direct comparison of day care pain patients with patients from other treatment sectors with respect to sociodemographic, pain-related and psychological characteristics has not yet been the subject of systematic analyses. The project core documentation and quality assurance in pain therapy (KEDOQ-pain) of the German Pain Society (Deutsche Schmerzgesellschaft e.V.

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Based on the fundamental concept of the biopsychosocial model, interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy (IMPT) has developed to one of the most important components in the treatment of patients suffering from chronic pain. The process criteria for IMPT in Germany are described in the German OPS catalogue and IMPT is mainly offered as an inpatient treatment only. This article updates some of the fundamental criteria for IMPT for adult inpatient treatment and the task force defines basic structural and process criteria for the implementation of IMPT for outpatients.

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Article Synopsis
  • A task force from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) created a classification for chronic pain in ICD-11 with seven categories and aimed to test their comprehensiveness and clarity.
  • Five pain centers globally assessed 507 patients by coding their pain types, judging the utility of the classification, and reporting diagnostic confidence.
  • Results showed that 97% of patients fit into proposed categories, with the majority in chronic primary or secondary musculoskeletal pain, and the classification was found to be useful and mutually exclusive, even without prior training on the ICD-11.
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With the implementation of the German diagnosis-related groups (DRG) reimbursement system in hospitals, interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy was incorporated into the associated catalogue of procedures (OPS 8‑918). Yet, the presented criteria describing the procedure of interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy are neither precise nor unambiguous. This has led to discrepancies in the interpretation regarding the handling of the procedure-making it difficult for medical services of health insurance companies to evaluate the accordance between the delivered therapy and the required criteria.

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In 2009 the diagnosis chronic pain disorder with somatic and psychological factors (F45.41) was integrated into the German version of the International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10-GM). In 2010 Paul Nilges and Winfried Rief published operationalization criteria for this diagnosis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study compared chronic pain patients in outpatient vs. inpatient settings using data from KEDOQ-Schmerz, which focuses on quality assurance in pain therapy.
  • In total, 4705 patients were analyzed, revealing that inpatient patients tended to be older, more often female, and reported greater pain intensity and more pain locations.
  • Additionally, inpatient patients had poorer physical and mental health outcomes, including higher rates of depression and anxiety, although the differences between the groups had small effect sizes.
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Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is a frequent complication (15-40 %) of lumbar disc surgery and is rarely successfully treated by surgery with the exception of a re-prolapse associated with radicular pain. Multimodal pain treatment, however, is indicated by a lack of pathoanatomical correlates, unclear cause and psychosocial risk factors.This review describes a standardized non-operative treatment starting with broad interdisciplinary clarification by medical, psychological and physiotherapeutic means (assessment).

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On behalf of the Medical/Psychological Pain Associations, Pain Patients Alliance and the Professional Association of Pain Physicians and Psychologists, the Joint Commission of Professional Societies and Organizations for Quality in Pain Medicine, working in close collaboration with the respective presidents, has developed verifiable structural and process-related criteria for the classification of medical and psychological pain treatment facilities in Germany. Based on the established system of graded care in Germany and on existing qualifications, these criteria also argue for the introduction of a basic qualification in pain medicine. In addition to the first-ever comprehensive description of psychological pain facilities, the criteria presented can be used to classify five different levels of pain facilities, from basic pain management facilities, to specialized institutions, to the Centre for Interdisciplinary Pain Medicine.

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Background: Back pain has many causes. In Germany, about 70% of adults have at least one episode of back pain per year.

Methods: This review is based on a selective literature search and on the German National Disease Management Guideline for Low Back Pain.

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[Multimodal pain therapy in Germany: structure and quality].

Anasthesiol Intensivmed Notfallmed Schmerzther

January 2016

Multimodal Pain Management is a comprehensive treatment of complex chronic pain syndromes. In addition to medical therapy various other specialized therapeutical interventions based on the biopsychosocial model of pain origin and chronic pain development are added.Medical indications are given for patients with chronic pain syndromes, but also if there is an elevated risk of chronic pain in the early stadium of the disease and aiming at delaying the process of chronification.

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Multimodal pain treatment programs are widely accepted as the medical treatment standard in the management of patients with chronic pain syndromes. The concepts and treatment strategies are based on the biopsychosocial model of pain and programs for early restoration of function. Although this concept is primarily implemented in the curative field, i.

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Among the clinically relevant pain conditions, pain in the musculoskeletal system is most frequent. This article reports extensive epidemiological data on musculoskeletal system pain in Germany and worldwide. Since back pain is most frequent, the diagnostics and therapeutic algorithms of acute, recurring, and chronic lower back pain in Germany will be particularly addressed.

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Multimodal pain management is a comprehensive treatment of complex chronic pain syndromes. In addition to medical therapy various other specialized therapeutic interventions based on the biopsychosocial model of pain origin and chronic pain development, are added. During the last few years treatment centers for chronic pain have been established throughout Germany.

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Article Synopsis
  • A German guideline suggests a comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment for non-specific low back pain if it lasts longer than 6 weeks to evaluate the need for a multi- and interdisciplinary pain therapy program.
  • The paper outlines key topics, content, involved disciplines, and the scope of this multidisciplinary assessment.
  • This framework was created by the German Pain Society's ad hoc commission focused on multimodal pain therapy.
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