Pain physician
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Tolerance is defined as a phenomenon in which exposure to a drug results in a decrease of an effect or the requirement of a higher dose to maintain an effect. The fear of a patient developing opioid tolerance contributes regularly to the stigmatization and withholding of intrathecal opioid therapy for chronic pain of non-cancer origin. ⋯ The opioid dose escalation observed throughout the years was modest and not significant following year 3 of therapy. The model developed has the potential to assist the physician in the identification of a need for alternative treatment strategies. Furthermore, since many of the pump replacements are performed prior to year 6, it can also assist in the informed decision of the benefits and risks of the maintenance of this therapy.
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Review Case Reports
Percutaneous osteoplasty for the treatment of a painful osteochondral lesion of the talus: a case report and literature review.
An osteochondral lesion of the talus (OLT) is a lesion involving the talar articular cartilage and its subchondral bone. OLT is a known cause of chronic ankle pain after ankle sprains in the active population. The lesion causes deep ankle pain associated with weight-bearing, impaired function, limited range of motion, stiffness, catching, locking, and swelling. ⋯ Postoperative fluoroscopy and computed tomography images showed bone cement filling of the defect. In the present case, arthroscopic and fluoroscopic guidance was used for aspiration of an OLT and for performing percutaneous osteoplasty with hydroxyapatite for one defect; this treatment decreased pain upon weight bearing and enabled a return to work without any restrictions one week after the procedure. The purpose of this report was to highlight the presence of OLT in chronic ankle pain and to review its management strategies.
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Cauda equina syndrome is a well described state of neurologic compromise due to lumbosacral root compression. In most cases, it is due to a herniated disc, tumor, infection, or hematoma. We report a case of rapid lumbar synovial cyst expansion leading to acute cauda equina syndrome and compare it to similar cases in the literature. The patient is a 49-year-old woman with a history of chronic low back pain who developed cauda equina syndrome. ⋯ Specifically, in the setting of acute cauda equina syndrome secondary to a lumbar synovial cyst, urgent surgical decompression has led to resolution of neurologic symptoms in most reported cases. A lumbar synovial cyst is an uncommon cause of acute cauda equina syndrome. Prompt diagnosis and treatment may lead to reduced morbidity associated with this condition.
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Epidural steroid injections have shown efficacy in short-term pain relief, but often require repeated injections in order to provide continued pain relief. It has been suggested that a continuous, locally administered dose of an anti-inflammatory compound may provide sustained pain relief at doses lower than those needed with injections. ⋯ The results indicate that a biodegradable depot designed to be placed in a specific location to provide local sustained release of an anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug may be a feasible new approach to treat radicular pain associated with intervertebral disc pathology and other spinal conditions.