Pain physician
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Poorly managed chronic spinal pain encumbers medical resources and drives healthcare costs, suggesting a target for improvement. ⋯ We observed meaningful savings in cost and resource use when chronic spine-pain patients were managed by pain specialists. Pain-management referrals should be an element of a thoughtfully designed care pathway.
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Interlaminar epidural injection (ILEI) is used to relieve low back pain, with or without radiating pain. The distance from the skin to the epidural space determines the needle depth and may be influenced by the patient's body measurements. ⋯ Height combined with weight and BMI can help estimate the optimal needle depth from the skin to the epidural space. Needle depth in L5-S1 and caudal angle in L3-4 and L4-5 of MRI were correlated with those of fluoroscopy of ILEI.