Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America
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With the rapid shift to telemedicine brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, physiatrists must get accustomed to the new technology and learn how to optimize their evaluations. For those practitioners managing patients with acquired brain injuries, which include stroke and traumatic brain injury, this can seem a daunting task given potential physical and cognitive barriers. However, as the authors discuss techniques to optimize visits, the aim is to illustrate how telehealth appointments can not only be comparable to in-person examinations but also may help increase outreach, compliance, and even satisfaction among this unique population.
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Telerehabilitation for pain management uses communication technology to minimize geographic barriers. Access to such technology has proven critically important during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic and has been useful for patients with chronic pain disorders unable to travel. ⋯ The goals of care are unchanged from an in-person patient-provider experience. Telerehabilitation can be successfully implemented in pain management with appropriate consideration for staging an evaluation, a structured approach to the visit, and application of standard clinical metrics.
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Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am · Aug 2020
ReviewManagement Strategies for Spinal Cord Injury Pain Updated for the Twenty-First Century.
Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in several life-altering impairments, including paralysis, sensory loss, and neurogenic bowel/bladder dysfunction. Some of these SCI-related conditions can be accommodated with compensatory strategies. ⋯ In addition to the expected challenges in treating any chronic pain condition, treatment of SCI-related pain has the added difficulty of disruption of normal neural pathways that subserve pain transmission and attenuation. This article reviews selected treatment strategies for SCI-associated neuropathic pain.
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Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am · Aug 2020
ReviewUpdates of the International Standards for Neurologic Classification of Spinal Cord Injury: 2015 and 2019.
The International Standards for Neurologic Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) are the most widely used classification system in spinal cord injury medicine. The purpose of the ISNCSCI is to ensure accurate and consistent communication among patients, clinicians, and researchers. ⋯ The updates were incorporated into the 2019 ISNCSCI worksheet and booklet, and the International Standards Training e-Learning Program. This article details the ISNCSCI update from 2015 and revision in 2019.
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Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am · Aug 2020
ReviewConventional Respiratory Management of Spinal Cord Injury.
Respiratory complications often result from acute spinal cord injury. Ventilatory assistance/support is often required 12 hours to 6 days after admission and is typically delivered via translaryngeal tubes. ⋯ This renders the oximeter ineffective as a gauge of alveolar ventilation, airway secretion management, and residual lung disease, and can exacerbate hypercapnia. Thus, hypoventilation and airway secretions must be effectively treated to prevent lung disease and to maintain normal O2 saturation and CO2 levels without supplemental O2.