Project description:Neuromas are an under-recognized contributor to chronic abdominal pain. Other than after mesh inguinal hernia repair, surgical management of painful abdominal wall neuromas has not been well established in the literature.MethodsAll patients who underwent surgical treatment for painful abdominal wall neuromas by the senior author at Northwestern Memorial Hospital were reviewed. Patients were treated with neuroma excision and allograft nerve reconstruction and/or with targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR). Follow-up pain surveys were issued to assess pain levels, activities of daily living, and pain medication usage.ResultsTwenty patients met inclusion criteria. Eighteen (90%) patients reported improvement in neuropathic pain postoperatively. Two (10%) patients had TMR following failed nerve allograft reconstruction, which led to complete pain resolution. Twenty-seven nerves were treated surgically, the majority of which were abdominal intercostal (13), followed by ilioinguinal (10), genitofemoral (3), and iliohypogastric (1). Nerve allograft reconstruction was used alone for 18 procedures, in combination with TMR for 2, and TMR was used alone in 8. In all cases of TMR, the freshened nerve ending after neuroma excision was coapted to a motor nerve of the internal oblique. The mean length of follow-up was 18.9 months (SD ±14.5).ConclusionsThis retrospective review demonstrated that 90% (18) of the patients had significant improvement in abdominal neuroma pain postoperatively. These results may help guide providers toward effective management of abdominal wall neuropathic pain.
Project description:BACKGROUND: Modulation of M-type currents has been proposed as a new strategy for the treatment of neuropathic pain due to their role in regulating neuronal excitability. Using electrophysiological techniques we showed previously that the opening of Kv7 channels with retigabine, blocked ectopic discharges from axotomized fibers but did not alter transduction at intact skin afferents. We hypothesized that after nerve damage, accumulation of Kv7 channels in afferent fibers may increase M-type currents which then acquired a more important role at regulating fiber excitability. FINDINGS: In this study, we used an immunohistochemical approach to examine patterns of expression of Kv7.2 channels in afferent fibers after axotomy and compared them to patterns of expression of voltage gated Na+ channels (Nav) which are key electrogenic elements in peripheral axons known to accumulate in experimental and human neuromas.Axotomy induced an enlargement and narrowing of the nodes of Ranvier at the proximal end of the neuroma together with a dramatic demyelination and loss of structure at its distal end in which naked accumulations of Nav were present. In addition, axotomy also induced accumulations of Kv7.2 that co-localized with those of Nav channels. CONCLUSIONS: Whilst Nav channels are mandatory for initiation of action potentials, (i.e. responsible for the generation/propagation of ectopic discharges) an increased accumulation of Kv7.2 channels after axotomy may represent a homeostatic compensation to over excitability in axotomized fibers, opening a window for a peripheral action of M-current modulators under conditions of neuropathy.
Project description:The lingual nerves are incidentally injured in many oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures, traumatic neuroma was observed at the proximal stump of the injured lingual nerve in patients with severe lingual nerve disturbance. Various genes including genes related to nerve regeneration are expressed in the rat and mouse traumatic neuroma, as regeneration mechanism works after lingual nerve injury. Few reported have showed the expressed genes in the traumatic neuroma of the human lingual nerve. In this study, we compared the gene expression between pooled RNA sample from three traumatic neuromas removed in microneurosurgery in the lingual nerve and an RNA sample from the normal lingual nerve on the unaffected side of the removed tongue with cancer. The 2,357 genes increased more than twofold in the traumatic neuroma compared with the normal lingual nerve. Then, we analyzed the upregulated genes in DAVID and DAVID indicated that the 20 upregulated genes were associated with protein secretion to the extracellular space in the pathways. This study identified the 20 candidate genes at the nerve regeneration stage in the traumatic neuroma in the human lingual nerve.
Project description:Background: This study explores the application of CardioSecur® (CS-ECG), a hand-held 4-electrode/22-lead ECG-device, in comparison with conventional 12-lead electrocardiogram (c12L-ECG) in patients with acute chest pain in the prehospital emergency setting. Methods: CS-ECG systems were provided for two physician-staffed emergency ambulances and parallel recordings of c12L-ECG and CS-ECG were obtained from all patients with acute chest pain. Treating emergency physicians were asked to evaluate the CS-ECG system with a standardized questionnaire. Following study completion, acquired ECGs were analyzed separately by two independent cardiologists blinded to all other medical records. Results: Over a period of 20 months a total of 203 patients were included in our study. According to a standardized questionnaire, 79% of emergency medical professionals preferred application of CS-ECG, with 87% of teams judging CS-ECG to be beneficial for patients. Morover, 79% of physicians reported a reduction in time to definitive diagnosis with implementation of CS-ECG. The majority of professional users attested user-friendliness and feasibility of CS-ECG in terms of easy general handling (94%), application (93%), and placement of electrodes (98%). During prehospital triage, both c12L-ECG and CS-ECG correctly identified 31 (91%) patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Conclusion: In this first pilot study, implementation of the CardioSecur®-ECG system in the prehospital emergency setting demonstrated feasibility and user-friendliness so that emergency teams generally preferred CS-ECG to c12L-ECG. Diagnostic yield of CS-ECG was similar to c12L-ECG recordings.
Project description:Background?Symptomatic patients with significant left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) require a tailored treatment approach. Both functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) and left bundle branch block (LBBB) can develop, contributing to clinical deterioration, and worse prognosis despite optimal medical therapy (OMT).Case summary?We report the case of a symptomatic 60-year-old man on OMT with LVSD and significant FMR. His symptoms and FMR initially improved following transvenous mitral annuloplasty using the Carillon® Mitral Contour System® annuloplasty device. However, he subsequently developed LBBB with associated reduction in exercise capacity, for which he underwent cardiac resynchronization therapy, and ensuing symptom improvement and stabilization.Discussion?Our case describes how targeted device interventions can be combined synergistically to optimize patient symptoms.
Project description:ObjectiveTo compare the durations of response achieved with adjunctive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS + TAU) vs treatment as usual (TAU) alone in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) over a 5-year period in the TRD registry.Materials and methodsData from 271 participants on TAU and 328 participants on VNS + TAU were analyzed. Response was defined as ≥50% decrease in baseline Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score at postbaseline visit and was considered retained until the decrease was <40%. MADRS was obtained quarterly in year 1 and biannually thereafter. Time-to-events were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method and compared using log-rank test. HR was estimated using Cox proportion hazard model.ResultsIn the VNS + TAU arm, 62.5% (205/328) of participants had a first response over 5 years compared with 39.9% (108/271) in TAU. The time to first response was significantly shorter for VNS + TAU than for TAU (P<0.01). For responders in the first year, median time to relapse from first response was 10.1 months (Q1=4.2, Q3=31.5) for VNS + TAU vs 7.3 months (Q1=3.1, Q3=17.6) for TAU (P<0.01). HR=0.6 (95% CI: 0.4, 0.9) revealed a significantly lower chance for relapse in VNS + TAU. Probability of retaining first response for a year was 0.39 (0.27, 0.51) for TAU and 0.47 (0.38, 0.56) for VNS + TAU. Timing of the onset of the response did not impact the durability of the response.ConclusionVNS therapy added to TAU in severe TRD leads to rapid onset and higher likelihood of response, and a greater durability of the response as compared to TAU alone.
Project description:BackgroundTo examine published data and assess evidence relating to safety and efficacy of surgical management of symptomatic pineal cysts without hydrocephalus (nhSPC), we performed a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis.MethodsFollowing the PRISMA guidelines, we searched Pubmed and SCOPUS for all reports with the query 'Pineal Cyst' AND 'Surgery' as of March 2021, without constraints on study design, publication year or status (PROSPERO_CRD:42,021,242,517). Assessment of 1537 hits identified 26 reports that met inclusion and exclusion criteria.ResultsAll 26 input studies were either case reports or single-centre retrospective cohorts. The majority of outcome data were derived from routine physician-recorded notes. A total of 294 patients with surgically managed nhSPC were identified. Demographics: Mean age was 29 (range: 4-63) with 77% females. Mean cyst size was 15 mm (5-35). Supracerebellar-infratentorial approach was adopted in 90% of cases, occipital-transtentorial in 9%, and was not reported in 1%. Most patients were managed by cyst resection (96%), and the remainder by fenestration. Mean post-operative follow-up was 35 months (0-228).PresentationHeadache was the commonest symptom (87%), followed by visual (54%), nausea/vomit (34%) and vertigo/dizziness (31%). Other symptoms included focal neurology (25%), sleep disturbance (17%), cognitive impairment (16%), loss of consciousness (11%), gait disturbance (11%), fatigue (10%), 'psychiatric' (2%) and seizures (1%). Mean number of symptoms reported at presentation was 3 (0-9).OutcomesImprovement rate was 93% (to minimise reporting bias only consecutive cases from cohort studies were considered, N = 280) and was independent of presentation. Predictors of better outcomes were large cyst size (OR = 5.76; 95% CI: 1.74-19.02) and resection over fenestration (OR = 12.64; 3.07-52.01). Age predicted worse outcomes (OR = 0.95; 0.91-0.99). Overall complication rate was 17% and this was independent of any patient characteristics. Complications with long-term consequences occurred in 10 cases (3.6%): visual disturbance (3), chronic incisional pain (2), sensory disturbance (1), fatigue (1), cervicalgia (1), cerebellar stroke (1) and mortality due to myocardial infarction (1).ConclusionsAlthough the results support the role of surgery in the management of nhSPCs, they have to be interpreted with a great deal of caution as the current evidence is limited, consisting only of case reports and retrospective surgical series. Inherent to such studies are inhomogeneity and incompleteness of data, selection bias and bias related to assessment of outcome carried out by the treating surgeon in the majority of cases. Prospective studies with patient-reported and objective outcome assessment are needed to provide higher level of evidence.
Project description:For severe cubital tunnel syndrome, patients with absent sensory nerve action potential tend to have more severe nerve damage than those without. Thus, it is speculated that such patients generally have a poor prognosis. How absent sensory nerve action potential affects surgical outcomes remains uncertain owing to a scarcity of reports and conflicting results. This retrospective study recruited one hundred and fourteen cases (88 patients with absent sensory nerve action potential and 26 patients with present sensory nerve action potential) undergoing either subcutaneous transposition or in situ decompression. The minimum follow-up was set at 2 years. Primary outcome measures of overall hand function included their McGowan grade, modified Bishop score, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire (DASH) score. For patients with absent sensory nerve action potential, 71 cases (80.7%) achieved at least one McGowan grade improvement, 76 hands (86.4%) got good or excellent results according to the Bishop score, and the average DASH score improved 49.5 points preoperatively to 13.1 points postoperatively. When compared with the present sensory nerve action potential group, they showed higher postoperative McGowan grades and DASH scores, but there was no statistical difference between the modified Bishop scores of the two groups. Following in situ decompression or subcutaneous transposition, great improvement in hand function was achieved for severe cubital tunnel syndrome patients with absent sensory nerve action potential. The functional outcomes after surgery for severe cubital tunnel syndrome are worse in patients with absent sensory nerve action potential than those without. This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, China (approval No. 2017142).
Project description:ObjectivesWe examined the impact of the bioresorbable osteosynthesis sternal pin (Super Fixsorb 30) on sternal healing after median sternotomy.MethodsSixty-three patients who underwent aortic surgery through median sternotomy between January 2006 and March 2009 were analysed. Sternal pins were utilized in 36 patients in addition to the standard closure of the sternum with Ethibond sutures (Group A), and 27 patients received no pins with the standard Ethibond sternal closure (Group B). The occurrence of transverse sternal dehiscence, anterior-posterior displacement and complete fusion of the sternum were evaluated by a computed tomography scan. The cross-sectional cortical bone density area (CBDA) of the sternum was examined to evaluate the osteoconductivity of the sternal pin over a 12-month period.ResultsThere was no sternal displacement (0%) observed in Group A at discharge. Meanwhile, five displacements (18.5%) were observed in Group B (P = 0.007). The complete sternal fusion rates at 12 months postoperatively were 100% in Group A, and 21.6% in Group B (P < 0.001). A significant increase in the CBDA was observed in Group A (P < 0.001; between CBDA at discharge and 12 months postoperatively).ConclusionsThe Super Fixsorb 30 sternal pin reduced an anterior-posterior sternal displacement and facilitated an earlier sternal fusion. The pin may have the potential to promote osteogenesis.