Articles: function.
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Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is effective for pain reduction in most patients, but 15% or more report unsatisfactory long-term pain outcomes. We tested whether oxidative stress (OS) related to extended tourniquet application during TKA and subsequent ischemic reperfusion (IR) contributed to adverse post-TKA pain outcomes. Blood samples were obtained in 91 patients with osteoarthritis (63% female) undergoing TKA before tourniquet placement (T1), 45 minutes after tourniquet inflation (T2), and 15 minutes after tourniquet removal (T3). ⋯ Longer ischemia duration was unexpectedly associated with lower baseline-corrected pain intensity at 6-month follow-up. Combined OS was not linked to functional outcomes at either follow-up. Elevated perioperative OS seems to exert small but significant adverse effects on long-term post-TKA pain outcomes, although this OS seems unrelated to IR injury associated with extended tourniquet use.
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Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) symptoms develop into chronic pain for some patients, but the reasons for this are unclear. Psychosocial factors and chronic overlapping pain conditions are believed to contribute to the development of pain-related disability. We examined the role of jaw function, negative and positive psychological factors and chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs) on pain-related disability whilst controlling for demographic variables. ⋯ These findings not only increase the body of knowledge related to TMD clinical phenotypes but also, have a translational impact in further supporting the potential value of targeting physical therapy such as jaw exercise along with psychological interventions as multidisciplinary nonpharmacological therapeutic solutions.
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The aim of this study is to extrapolate the clinical features of children with severe neurologic impairment (SNI) based on the functional characteristics and comorbidities described in published studies. ⋯ Despite the breadth of described comorbidities, studies focused on a narrow set of clinical topics. Further research is required to understand the prevalence, clinical impact, and interaction of the multiple comorbidities that are common in children with SNI.
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Diverse manifestations have been recognized to last for a long time in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, understanding of oral sequelae after recovery from COVID-19 is relatively poor compared to that of oral symptoms in the acute phase of COVID-19 and other COVID-19 sequelae. The aim of the present study was to characterize persistent gustatory and saliva secretory dysfunctions and to speculate on their pathogenic mechanisms. ⋯ The prevalence of gustatory sequelae partly depends on difference in ethnicity, gender, age, and disease severity of subjects. Co-occurring gustatory and saliva secretory sequelae are pathogenically related to either or both of the following: expression of SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry-relevant receptors in taste buds and salivary glands, and SARS-CoV-2 infection-induced deficiency in zinc that is essential for normality of taste perception and saliva secretion. Given the long-term oral sequelae, hospital discharge is not the end of the disease; therefore, careful attention should be continuously paid to oral conditions of post-COVID-19 patients.
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The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the short-, mid-, and long-term effectiveness of dry needling in improving pain and functional capacity of patients with chronic neck pain. Search strategy was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, and Cochrane Library Plus biomedical databases. The risk of bias was assessed using the RoB2 tool. ⋯ Dry needling showed to be more effective when compared with other therapies in both women and men, without differences by sex. When the analysis was carried out by age, patients over 40 years old benefitted more than those below 40 years old. Our meta-analysis supports the use of dry needling to improve pain and functional capacity in patients with chronic neck pain at short- and mid-term intervals.