Spinal cord stimulation does not change peripheral skin blood flow in patients with neuropathic pain.

Background And Objective: Spinal cord stimulation has been used successfully for many years in the management of neuropathic pain. Nociceptive pathways are closely integrated into many autonomic reflexes. The aim was to test the hypothesis that pain relief caused by spinal cord stimulation is related to changes in peripheral skin blood flow.

Phantom pain and sensation among British veteran amputees.

Using a mail-delivered questionnaire, we surveyed 590 veteran amputees concerning phantom pain, phantom sensation and stump pain. They were selected randomly from a population of 2974 veterans with long-standing limb amputation(s) using a computer random number generator. Eighty-nine percent responded and of these, 55% reported phantom limb pain and 56% stump pain.

The value of SPECT scans in identifying back pain likely to benefit from facet joint injection.

Lumbar facet disease is sometimes implicated in low back pain. Identification is difficult and this may account for a variable response. Single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) is a scanning technique which enables localization of facet joint pathology.

Comparison of infusions of morphine and lysine acetyl salicylate for the relief of pain following thoracic surgery.

A double-blind study comparing the effectiveness of a continuous infusion i.v. of lysine acetyl salicylate (LAS) with an infusion of morphine for the treatment of pain following pulmonary surgery is described.

Hypotension and myocardial metabolism. Drug-induced hypotension and the heart: a comparison between halothane and nitroprusside.

This study investigated the effect of hypotension produced by nitroprusside or halothane on haemodynamics and myocardial metabolism. It is postulated that halothane might influence the balance of supply and demand of oxygen to the heart more favourably than nitroprusside. The results in six open-chested dogs do not support this view.

Studies of temperature balance after open-heart surgery.

An analysis of postoperative records over a two-year period has shown that a mean rise in central body temperature greater than 2 degrees occurs in patients within 12 hours of return from the operating room following open-heart surgery. In some patients the central body temperature may rise to greater than 41 degrees C. despite an adequately warm peripheral temperature, and this is associated with a high mortality rate.