Inflammation-Induced Claudin-2 Upregulation Limits Pancreatitis Progression by Enhancing Tight Junction-Controlled Pancreatic Ductal Transport.

Pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas that can arise due to various factors, including environmental risks such as diet, alcohol, and smoking, as well as genetic predispositions. In some cases, pancreatitis may progress and become chronic, leading to irreversible damage and impaired pancreatic function. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified polymorphisms at the X-linked locus as risk factors for both sporadic and alcohol-related chronic pancreatitis.

Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in Pain Management: A Systematic Review.

Background: Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) has been increasingly used to manage acute and chronic pain. However, the level of clinical evidence to support its use is not clear.

Objectives: To assess the clinical evidence of PNS in the treatment of acute or chronic pain.

Comparison of post-operative pain scores and opioid use between kyphoplasty and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) systems combined with cement augmentation.

Objective: This retrospective chart review study aims to compare demographic information, post-operative pain scores, and opioid use following treatment with kyphoplasty alone, OsteoCool™ (Medtronic) system, and SpineSTAR ® (Merit Medicine).

Materials And Methods: Following institutional review board approval, retrospective chart review of 64 patients was examined between January 2011 and December 2017. Inclusion criteria for this study comprised patients greater than 18 years old having metastatic vertebral compression fracture involving the thoracolumbar spine.

Pharmacologic Considerations of Anesthetic Agents in Geriatric Patients.

Aging is a natural process of declining organ function and reserve. Census data show that the geriatric population is expected to grow to nearly 30%. More than half of geriatric patients have 1 or more surgical procedures in their lifetimes.

Perioperative Pharmacologic Considerations in Obesity.

Obesity has increased in incidence worldwide. Along with the increased number of obese patients, comorbid conditions are also more prevalent in this population. Obesity leads to changes in the physiology of patients along with an altered response to pharmacologic therapy.

Digital Subtraction Angiography Use During Epidural Steroid Injections Does Not Reliably Distinguish Artery from Vein.

Background: Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are among the most common procedures performed in an interventional pain management practice. It is well known that tragic complications may arise from ESIs, most commonly those performed using a transforaminal approach. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) has been hailed as a fluoroscopic technique that can be used to detect arterial placement of the injection needle, and therefore as a safety measure that can decrease the incidence of catastrophic sequelae of these procedures.

Perioperative Pain Control in the Ambulatory Setting.

Across the USA and various parts of the world, ambulatory surgery centers have transitioned to accepting patients with advanced ASA statuses, leading to a larger volume and higher complexity of surgeries performed, while still urging for same-day patient discharges. Inadequate postoperative pain management and opioid analgesia side effects, such as sedation, respiratory depression, and postoperative nausea and vomiting, are the most common complications and most common reasons for readmission after ambulatory surgery. The trend to limiting these complications and achieve a more rapid patient discharge currently emphasizes a multifactorial, balanced analgesia strategy.

An International Survey to Understand Infection Control Practices for Spinal Cord Stimulation.

Objectives: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are associated with significant healthcare costs and morbidity. Limited research exists specific to the prevention of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) SSIs. The objectives of this international survey were to examine current infection control practices for SCS trials and implants and to compare reported responses with evidence-based recommendations.

Reprogramming of in situ spinal cord stimulator for covering newly developed postthoracotomy pain.

The objective of this case report is to describe the use of in situ spinal cord stimulator (SCS) for postthoracotomy pain syndrome (PTPS). We report a 39-year-old woman with complex regional pain syndrome type I of the left lower extremity. The patient's pain was relieved by a SCS for 1 month before the patient developed slipping rib syndrome at her T12 rib from an unrelated trauma.

Celiac plexus block in the management of chronic abdominal pain.

Chronic abdominal pain is a devastating problem for patients and providers, due to the difficulty of effectively treating the entity. Both benign and malignant conditions can lead to chronic abdominal pain. Precision in diagnosis is required before effective treatment can be instituted.

Concordant pressure paresthesia during interlaminar lumbar epidural steroid injections correlates with pain relief in patients with unilateral radicular pain.

Background: Transforaminal and interlaminar epidural steroid injections are commonly used interventional pain management procedures in the treatment of radicular low back pain. Even though several studies have shown that transforaminal injections provide enhanced short-term outcomes in patients with radicular and low back pain, they have also been associated with a higher incidence of unintentional intravascular injection and often dire consequences than have interlaminar injections.

Objectives: We compared 2 different approaches, midline and lateral parasagittal, of lumbar interlaminar epidural steroid injection (LESI) in patients with unilateral lumbosacral radiculopathic pain.

Managing and treating headache of cervicogenic origin.

CGH is a common entity that has been assessed historically in various medical disciplines. Currently, CGH is a controversial topic whose existence has supporters and naysayers. The difficulty evaluating CGH is caused by a lack of objective findings on imaging and biologic tests.

Tripolar spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome.

Objectives: The objective of this case report is to describe the use of transverse tripolar dorsal column stimulation in a patient with a history of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) associated with abdominal pain resistant to conservative treatments.

Method: We report a 36-year-old man who presented to the pain clinic with an eight-year history of IBS (constipation predominant with occasional diarrheal episodes), with "crampy and sharp" abdominal pain. He also had nonradicular thoracic spine pain due to thoracic scoliosis.

Microdiscectomy: spinal anesthesia offers optimal results in general patient population.

Spinal anesthesia provides a safe and highly satisfactory alternative to general anesthesia in patients undergoing limited lumbar surgery. Nevertheless, it is not commonly used for spinal surgery, and in some centers it is not even considered as an option for spinal procedures. This study presents the current anesthetic technique for patients undergoing microdiscectomy and compares the peri- and postoperative outcomes in 76 patients drawn from a case-controlled study group.

Comparison of spinal and general anesthesia in lumbar laminectomy surgery: a case-controlled analysis of 400 patients.

Object: Despite a history of safety and efficacy, spinal anesthesia is rarely used in lumbar surgery. Application of regional anesthetics is widely preferred for lower-extremity surgery, but general anesthesia is used almost exclusively in spine surgery, despite evidence that spinal anesthesia is as safe and may offer some advantages.

Methods: In this case-controlled study the authors analyzed outcomes obtained in 400 patients in whom either spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia was induced to perform a lumbar decompression.

Conversion disorder mimicking Dejerine-Roussy syndrome (thalamic stroke) after spinal cord stimulation.

Objective: Dejerine-Roussy syndrome is a complex of various signs and symptoms in patients suffering from central thalamic pain, usually secondary to a vascular etiology. We describe a patient presenting with the potentially devastating signs and symptoms of thalamic stroke, at least temporally related to spinal cord stimulator implantation. The etiology of the patient's affliction was subsequently revealed to be a conversion disorder.