Retrospective Analysis of Factors Affecting Chronic Postoperative Pain After Thoracotomy: Single Center Experience.

Objective: Despite various pain management methods, chronic pain is still a challenging issue after thoracotomy. This retrospective study was designed to determine the possible factors affecting the development of chronic pain following open thoracotomy. Methods: The study included patients who underwent elective open thoracotomy at Ankara University Ibni Sina Hospital, between 01.01.2016 and 31.12.2020. The medical files and electronic records of the patients were scanned from the system. Patient history, analgesic methods, and surgical details were recorded. The need for and usage analgesic drugs after the surgery were also recorded. Results: A total of 229 patients who underwent thoracotomy were included in the study, and 83 (36.2%) patients had chronic pain. Duration of surgery, doses of remifentanil, fentanyl or NSAI drugs, duration or number of chest tubes (more than 4 days, or more than 2 tubes), diabetes, or PCEA usage were found as variables affecting pain. Logistic Regression, Multilayer Perceptron, Naive Bayes, AdaBoost, and Random Forest methods were used to evaluate the prediction performances. According to the model created with logistic regression, the rate of the correct classification was 90.8%. The duration of surgery, remifentanil administration, chest tube for more than 4 days, and diabetes were found to be risk factors for developing chronic pain. Fentanyl bolus, PCEA-bupivacaine, and NSAID bolus were determined as preventive factors. Conclusion: A careful analysis of risk factors should be performed for each patient to prevent chronic pain after thoracotomy, and preemptive effective analgesia methods should be performed.

Comparison of efficacy of particulate and non-particulate steroids in patients with lumbosacral pain, non-operated patients with chronic radicular symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: In our study, we aimed to retrospectively evaluate patients who were given particulate and non-particulate steroids for transforaminal epidural steroid injection due to non-operated chronic low back pain with radicular symptoms in terms of the change in pain and the change in functional capacity before the procedure. METHODS: This study was carried out by examining the files of 130 patients, underwent an interventional procedure. Records of patients pertaining to age, gender, location of pain, Visual Analog Scale, Patient Global Impression of Change, and Oswestry Disability Index Scale (ODI) before the interventional procedure and at the 1st and 3rd months after the procedure were recorded using the hospital automation system and patient follow-up forms. RESULTS: The functional capacity of the patients was evaluated, and in the comparison of the ODI score before the procedure, at the 1st month, and at the 3rd month, a statistically significant difference was found in the particulate steroid group compared to the non-particulate group at the 1st and 3rd months. When evaluated using the Generalized Linear Models, a statistically significant difference was found in both groups (p=0.039), and the ODI score was approximately 2,951 units lower in patients who were treated with particulate steroids than those who were treated with non-particulate steroids at each measurement time. CONCLUSION: In our study, it has been demonstrated that particulate steroids are superior to non-particulate steroids in improving functional capacity in the early period, and non-particulate steroids are advantageous in the long term.

Retrospective evaluation of patients with cervical spinal cord stimulator.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic pain is a cause that negatively affects quality of life and functional capacity. Spinal cord stimulation is used for various painful indications such as failed back surgery syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Our aim is to retrospectively investigate the effectiveness of cervical spinal cord stimulator therapy in nine patients. METHODS: Nine patients with chronic pain in the upper extremity who did not benefit from medical (pharmacological, physical therapy, etc.) and algological interventional procedures (such as nerve blocks) were included in the study. Cervical spinal cord stimulator was applied to these patients in our pain clinic between January 1, 2016, and January 1, 2019. The pain levels and analgesic and antiepileptic drug doses of the patients before and after the procedure were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 51.8±14.6% (29-76), 44.4% (4) were female and 55.6% (5) were male. Indications for cervical spinal cord stimulator insertion were CRPS type 1 (five patients), CRPS type 2 (two patients), previous neck surgery (one patient), and pain syndrome due to PVD (one patient). After the procedure, we saw a statistical decrease in the pain levels and drug doses of the study patients. SPSS 22.0 statistics package program was used to evaluate the data. NPar and Friedman tests were used for comparisons. Continuous variables are given as mean±standard deviation. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Cervical spinal cord stimulator is an effective method in the treatment of neck and upper extremity chronic pain.

Acute rhabdomyolysis following epidural steroid injection: An unusual complication in a patient with low back pain.

Epidural steroid injection is a very common intervention in the treatment of low back pain and sciatic symptoms. The most common complication for epidural steroid injection is transient headache with or without identifiable dural puncture. Other complications have also been reported, including intravascular entry, local hematoma, bleeding, increased back pain, facial flushing, vasovagal reactions, nausea, and fever. We report a case of rhabdomyolysis following epidural steroid injection for lumbar radiculopathy.

Clinical results of intradiscal hydrogel administration (GelStix) in lumbar degenerative disc disease

Background/aim: Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is one of the main causes of lower back pain. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous intradiscal GelStix administration in patients with discogenic pain due to lumbar DDD who were unresponsive to conservative methods. Materials and methods: A total of 29 patients were included in the study, which took place between 2013 and 2017. Sedation was performed in the prone position in the operating room, and a C-arm was located so as to provide a lateral view of the surgical field. A 22-G, 3.5-inch needle was inserted into the center of the disc under fluoroscopy guidance, and a percutaneous intradiscal GelStix implantation was performed. All patients were evaluated using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after treatment, and using the Patient Satisfaction Scale at 12 months following treatment. Results: The mean VAS scores were 7.14 ± 0.64 at baseline and 2.48 ± 0.63 at 12 months (P < 0.001). The mean ODI scores were 28.14 ± 1.81 at baseline and 17.35 ± 0.67 at 12 months (P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant decrease in the VAS and ODI scores before and after treatment. A total of 86.2% of the patients rated the procedure as very good or good at 12 months. Conclusion: Our study results suggest that GelStix treatment is useful in pain relief in patients with DDD from the first month of treatment.

Evaluation of the efficacy of epiduroscopic adhesiolysis in failed back surgery syndrome

Background/aim: We aimed to compare the results of the treatment of the patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) by mechanical lysis and steroid hylase injection via epiduroscopy due to their stabilization status and to detect the effect of pathological diagnostic markers on prognosis and ongoing treatment protocol. Materials and methods: Eighty-two patients with FBSS symptoms were included. Two groups were composed as group I (stabilized) and group II (nonstabilized). All patients were evaluated using the oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores before and after treatment at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months and using the patient satisfaction scale at 12 months following treatment. Epidural scar tissue visual and mechanical signs were also recorded. Results: Mean VAS scores were 7.8 and 3.28 points in group I (P < 0.001) and 7.51 and 2.74 points in group II (P < 0.001) at the beginning and at 12 months, respectively. Mean ODI scores were 34.05 and 22.16 points in group I (P < 0.001) and 30.74 and 19.46 points in group II (P < 0.001) at the beginning and at 12 months. VAS and ODI scores decreased significantly in both groups, but were more significant in the nonstabilized group (P < 0.001). Moderate or severe fibrous tissue was observed in 86.58% of the patients and patient satisfaction scores were very good or good in 78.06% of the patients. During the procedure, a dura rupture developed in four patients in the stabilization group and in two patients in the nonstabilization group; however, none of these patients developed a spinal headache and no significant permanent complication arose. Conclusion: We suggest that epidural adhesiolysis, hyaluronidase, and steroid injection in patients with FBSS chronic low back pain and/or radicular symptoms may give reliable information about the quality of life, accuracy of diagnosis, and the possible course of the present findings and may be more effective in nonstabilized patients

Effectiveness of Percutaneous Intradiscal Decompression Therapy in Thoracic Disc Herniation

Aims: Although there have been many studies about lumbar and cervical ablation procedures, few studies have been performed in the thoracic region. To evaluate the clinical results of a percutaneous disc decompression device in patients with radicular symptoms and/or dorsal pain due to thoracic disc herniation. Methods: Eleven patients with thoracic disc herniation and/or degenerative discs (all in T10-T11, or T11-T12 levels) who did not respond to conservative treatments were undergoing ablation and compression procedures. Pain and radicular symptoms consistent with the thoracolumbar region were confirmed via abnormal magnetic resonance imaging findings after detailed anamnesis and physical examination. All patients were evaluated before and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment using the visual analog scale score. The patient satisfaction scale was used to evaluate the level of patient satisfaction at the end of the treatment at 12 months. Results: The median visual analog scale score was 7.00±0.45 points before treatment and 2.73±0.65 points at 12 months post-procedure and were statistically significant (p<0.001). The results of pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni Corrected Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test showed that there were statistically significant differences. The mean visual analog scale score at the beginning (7.00±0.45) was significantly higher than the mean score of other months. Postoperative improvement was significant with a 99% confidence interval. No complications that may cause permanent damage occurred. Conclusion: Percutaneous disc decompression is an effective and safe procedure to treat pain caused by lower thoracic intervertebral disc disease, which did not respond to conservative treatments.

[Thoracic outlet syndrome: A case of scalene muscle hypertrophy in long-term follow-up of diagnosis of cervical discopathy]. / Uzun süre servikal diskopati tanisi ile izlenen skalen kas hipertrofisinin neden oldugu torasik outlet sendromu.

Described in this article is diagnosis and treatment of mixed type of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) resulting from scalene muscle hypertrophy. Many diseases should be considered in the differential diagnosis to definitively diagnose this syndrome, and it is necessary to ask about activities of daily life, in addition to adding provocative tests to physical examination and examining electrophysiological and imaging results. Once diagnosed, even if complaints decrease with conservative treatment, surgery may be required. However, in patients diagnosed late, despite decrease in complaints after surgery, neurological deficit may remain.