Implementation of Electrical Auricular Acupuncture and Low Frequency Modulated Electric Current Therapy in Pain Management of Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Pilot Trial.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of knee pain. Conservative therapy resources are limited due to adverse effects. Therefore, alternative non-invasive therapy approaches to reduce pain medications are gaining importance.

The effects of auricular electroacupuncture on obesity in female patients--a prospective randomized placebo-controlled pilot study.

Background: Obesity is a chronic condition related to serious morbidity and mortality of increasing incidence and prevalence. Several studies show a significantly higher weight loss with acupuncture treatment. This is the first prospective, randomized, double-blinded study, testing the effects of auricular electroacupuncture on weight loss in obese female patients.

Peripheral nerve field stimulation (PNFS) in chronic low back pain: a prospective multicenter study.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of peripheral nerve field stimulation (PNFS) for chronic low back pain (cLBP).

Materials And Methods: In this prospective, multicenter observational study, 118 patients were admitted to 11 centers throughout Austria and Switzerland. After a screening visit, all patients underwent a trial stimulation period of at least seven days before implantation of the permanent system.

Surgical treatment of complex regional pain syndrome type II with regional subcutaneous venous sympathectomy.

Background: The effectiveness of a new surgical technique for the treatment of severe chronic pain stages was evaluated. For the last 140 years, the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome type II (CRPS II) has been an unsolved problem. Therapeutic approaches have included conventional pain medication, physical therapy, sympathetic blocks, transcutaneous or spinal cord stimulation, injections or infusion therapies, and sympathectomy.

Subcutaneous target stimulation (STS) in chronic noncancer pain: a nationwide retrospective study.

Stimulation of primary afferent neurons offers a new approach for the control of localized chronic pain. We describe the results with a new neurostimulation technique, subcutaneous target stimulation (STS), for the treatment of chronic focal noncancer pain. STS applies permanent electrical stimulation directly at the painful area via a percutaneous-placed subcutaneous lead.

Perioperative auricular electroacupuncture has no effect on pain and analgesic consumption after third molar tooth extraction.

Background: Auricular acupuncture (AA) has been shown to alleviate acute and chronic pain. We investigated the effects of auricular electroacupuncture (AE) on pain and analgesic drug consumption in the first 48 h after unilateral mandibular third molar tooth extraction under local anesthesia in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 149 patients.

Methods: Patients received either AA with electrical stimulation (AE, n = 76) or without (AA, n = 37) electrical stimulation at an alternating frequency of 2/100 Hz or a sham AE with metal plates instead of needles and no electrical stimulation, no-needle (NN, n = 36) at the AA points 1 (tooth), 55 (Shen men) and 84 (mouth) during the entire study period.

P-Stim auricular electroacupuncture stimulation device for pain relief.

Acupuncture is now accepted as a complementary analgesic treatment. Auricular acupuncture is a distinct form of acupuncture. Electrical stimulation of acupoints (electroacupuncture) increases the effects of acupuncture.

Auricular electro-acupuncture as an additional perioperative analgesic method during oocyte aspiration in IVF treatment.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the pain-relieving effect and the subjective well-being between auricular electro-acupuncture (EA) analgesia, auricular acupuncture (A) and conventional analgesia with remifentanil (CO).

Methods: A total of 94 women undergoing IVF were randomized to auricular acupuncture with (EA, n = 32) or without (A, n = 32) continuous 1 Hz auricular stimulation (using a battery-powered miniaturized stimulator, P-Stim) or with adhesive tapes instead of needles and no electrical stimulation (control group, CO, n = 30) at the auricular acupuncture points 29, 55 and 57. All patients received patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with remifentanil.

Chronic pelvic pain treated with gabapentin and amitriptyline: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and side effects of gabapentin, amitriptyline, and their combination in women with chronic pelvic pain.

Methods: In this open-label, prospective, randomized trial, 56 women with chronic pelvic pain were investigated with a two-year follow-up at the Vienna Medical University Hospital. If pain intensity assessed by a visual analog scale (VAS) was 5 or more (0, no pain; 10, maximal pain), despite analgesic therapy using the nonopioid drug metamizol together with weak opioids, patients were randomized to receive gabapentin (n = 20), amitriptyline (n = 20), or a combination of both drugs (n = 16).

S(+)-ketamine for long-term sedation in a child with retinoblastoma undergoing interstitial brachytherapy.

We report the case of a 14-month-old child undergoing hourly pulse dose radiation therapy (interstitial brachytherapy) for 72 h in whom we employed S(+)-ketamine for sedation during spontaneous breathing.

The short- and long-term benefit in chronic low back pain through adjuvant electrical versus manual auricular acupuncture.

Unlabelled: Acupuncture is an established adjuvant analgesic modality for the treatment of chronic pain. Electrical stimulation of acupuncture points is considered to increase acupuncture analgesia. In this prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled study we tested the hypothesis that auricular electroacupuncture (EA) relieves pain more effectively than conventional manual auricular acupuncture (CO) in chronic low back pain patients with insufficient pain relief (visual analogue scale [VAS] > or = 5) treated with standardized analgesic therapy.

Electrical stimulation of auricular acupuncture points is more effective than conventional manual auricular acupuncture in chronic cervical pain: a pilot study.

Unlabelled: In this prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled study, we tested the hypothesis that auricular electroacupuncture relieves pain more effectively than conventional manual auricular acupuncture. We studied 21 chronic cervical pain patients without radicular symptoms with insufficient pain relief (visual analogue scale >5) treated with standardized analgesic therapy. All patients received disposable acupuncture needles on the dominant side on the following acupuncture points: cervical spine, shen men, and cushion.

Does pain relief improve pain behavior and mood in chronic pain patients?

Chronic pain is a subjective experience and has not only physical, but also psychological and social dimensions. In the present study, we sought to determine whether an effective pain reduction would improve mood, behavioral, and cognitive outcome measures in chronic pain patients. Four-hundred-seventy-seven patients entering pain therapy at our university pain center were prospectively studied during the first year of treatment.

The influence of local active warming on pain relief of patients with cholelithiasis during rescue transport.

Unlabelled: Upper abdominal pain, a frequent symptom of the presence of gallstone disease, is the cause of 6% of the emergency calls of the Austrian emergency system. Pain resulting from cholelithiasis is characteristically severe. Recent data show that active warming during emergency transport of trauma victims is effective in reducing pain.