Levator ani trigger point injections: An underutilized treatment for chronic pelvic pain.

Aims: We conducted this study to examine the role of trigger point injections in females with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) of at least 6 months duration and specific levator ani trigger points.

Methods: This prospective study included 18 consecutive female patients with CPP and specific palpable levator ani trigger points. Pain was evaluated before and after trigger point injection on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

How accurate are health care workers' perceptions of patient suffering? A pilot study.

Health care workers' perceptions of patient suffering have not been well studied. Patients and health care workers were invited to answer a single, open-ended question. To develop a survey tool that could be validated and used for future research, what health care workers thought causes or caused the most suffering for patients was compared with what patients actually identified as the cause of their worst suffering.

Hemodialysis is as effective as hemoperfusion for drug removal in carbamazepine poisoning.

Although most authors recommend charcoal hemoperfusion (CHP) for the removal of carbamazepine (CBZ) in acute CBZ poisoning, we present a case where we had the chance to compare CHP with hemodialysis (HD). A 50-year-old white man with normal renal function ingested an unknown quantity of CBZ with lithium. He was dialyzed for 3 h and his serum CBZ level was reduced by 27.