Radiotracers in the Diagnosis of Pain: A Mini Review.

The diagnosis and understanding of pain is challenging in clinical practice. Assessing pain relies heavily on self-reporting by patients, rendering it inherently subjective. Traditional clinical imaging methods such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging can only detect anatomical abnormalities, offering limited sensitivity and specificity in identifying pain-causing conditions.

Defining Personas of People Living with Chronic Pain: An Ethnographic Research Study.

Introduction: Pain is the leading reason for which people seek medical care in the United States, and chronic pain (CP) affects approximately 50 million people in the US Pain perception is deeply personal, is highly correlated with behavioral and emotional disorders, and is greatly influenced by physiological and environmental factors. The patient-provider relationship can have profound implications for clinical outcomes within the context of treating CP. However, limited access to pain specialists, the complex nature of many CP-causing conditions, the absence of instruments for objective pain measurement, and the need to foster a trust-based patient-provider relationship throughout treatment pose unique challenges.

Point To Area of Pain: A Clinically Useful Telehealth Physical Exam Technique for Focal Nociceptive and Neuropathic Pain.

Background: Chronic pain is a leading cause of disease burden and disability globally. The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a major paradigm shift in health care delivery with the universal adoption of telemedicine. Telehealth physical examination is particularly challenging and little guidance is available on this topic.

Acute Cauda Equina Syndrome Due to Spondylolisthesis in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Case Report.

Case: A 54-year-old woman with chronic lumbar radiculopathy due to grade II spondylolisthesis at lumbar 4 to 5 developed acute cauda equina syndrome (CES) after an elective lumbar decompression, and fusion was delayed because of statewide bans on elective procedures during the pandemic. The diagnosis was made largely through telehealth consultation and eventually prompted urgent neurosurgical intervention.

Conclusion: This case report illustrates a rare presentation of acute CES and highlights some of the challenges of practicing clinical medicine in the midst of a pandemic.