A nationwide survey of lymphangioleiomyomatosis in Korea: recent increase in newly diagnosed patients.

In 2007, the Korean Interstitial Lung Disease Society had collected clinical data of patients who have diagnosed as Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) since 1990 through nationwide survey, which showed that LAM patients had increased sharply after 2004. The present study was performed to show the clinical features of Korean patients with LAM, and to establish the reason for the recent increase in the diagnosis. All 63 patients were women and the mean age at diagnosis was 36 yr. The most common presenting symptom was dyspnea and 8 patients had tuberous sclerosis complex. The survival rate at 5 yr after diagnosis was 84%. Compared with patients diagnosed after 2004 (n=34), the patients diagnosed before 2004 (n=29) complained with dyspnea more (P=0.016) and had lower FEV(1)% predicted (P=0.003), and DLco% predicted (P=0.042). The higher proportion of patients diagnosed after 2004 showed the normal chest radiography, and they were detected by routine chest CT screening (P=0.016). This study showed that clinical features of Korean patients with LAM were not different from those reported elsewhere. It is concluded that the reason for the increase of newly diagnosed patients is the result of increase in detection of the early stage LAM by the widespread use of chest CT screening.

The Effect of Skin Pressure on Needle Entry Point Accuracy During Fluoroscopically Guided Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Injections: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of skin pressure on needle entry point accuracy during fluoroscopically guided lumbar transforaminal epidural injection. DESIGN: This study is a prospective randomized clinical trial; 64 patients with a body mass index of 25 kg/m or greater were enrolled. For patients in the pressing group, the operator marked the needle entry point on the patient's back while pressing the patient's skin with the tip of an indicator. For patients in the nonpressing group, the tip of the indicator was gently positioned on the patient's skin. The data related to technical performance and radiation exposure during the procedure were compared. RESULTS: Sixty patients (nonpressing group, n = 30; pressing group, n = 30) were analyzed. There were more attempts to reposition the needle (n) and increased procedure time (in seconds) in the pressing group (median, 5 vs. 4 [P = 0.019]; 400.0 vs. 358.5 [P = 0.033]). The fluoroscopy time (in seconds) and the kerma-area product (in cGy cm) were also significantly longer and greater in the pressing group, respectively (median, 63.5 vs. 50.5 [P = 0.038]; 416.3 vs. 318.6 [P = 0.014]). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that practitioners should not press the skin with a radiopaque indicator when determining the needle entry point by fluoroscopy during lumbar transforaminal epidural injection.

Clinical Effectiveness of Ultrasound-guided Costotransverse Joint Injection in Thoracic Back Pain Patients.

Because of its anatomical location and function, the costotransverse (CTRV) joint can be a source of thoracic back pain. In this retrospective observational study, we evaluated the clinical effectiveness of the CTRV joint injection in thoracic back pain patients with suspected CTRV joint problems. We enrolled 20 thoracic back pain patients with localized tenderness that was provoked by the application of pressure on the affected CTRV joints. We injected it with 0.5 ml of a ropivacaine and triamcinolone mixture at each level. The mean pre-injection pain score decreased by 37.9% (7.2 ± 1.5 to 4.5 ± 1.7, P < 0.001) two weeks after CTRV joint injection. In addition, 70% of patients reported an excellent or good level of satisfaction. We demonstrated that an ultrasound-guided injection of the CTRV joint reduced patients' pain scores and led to a high level of satisfaction at short-term follow-ups in patients with suspected CTRV joint problems.

Factors Associated with Higher Reported Pain Levels in Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Cross-Sectional, Correlational Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is highly prevalent, disabling, and costly, and has many negative effects on quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with higher reported pain levels in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain among demographic, clinical, and psychological factors, and to evaluate whether insomnia is independently associated with pain intensity in this population. METHODS: A total of 357 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain (pain duration ≥ six months) satisfied the study inclusion criteria and were included in the analyses. Patient demographics, clinical, and psychological factors were evaluated with hierarchical multivariate logistic analysis to identify factors associated with severe pain (NRS [numeric rating scale] ≥ 7). Hierarchical linear regression analysis also performed to identify factors associated with pain intensity (0 to 10 NRS). RESULTS: Multivariate logistic analyses revealed older age (OR [odds ratio] = 1.017, 95% CI [confidence interval] 1.001-1.032, P = 0.034), high anxiety level (OR = 1.162, 95% CI 1.020-1.324, P = 0.024), high pain catastrophizing (OR = 1.043, 95% CI 1.007-1.081, P = 0.018), and severe insomnia (OR = 1.112, 95% CI 1.057-1.170, P<0.001) were significantly associated with severe pain. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed age (ß = 0.106, P = 0.041), pain catastrophizing (ß = 0.249, P<0.001), and insomnia (ß = 0.286, P<0.001) were significantly associated with pain intensity. The variance in pain intensity explained by the final model was 32.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Older age, severe insomnia, and high pain catastrophizing were significantly associated with higher reported pain levels. Insomnia was independently associated with pain intensity, even after controlling for various demographic and clinical factors. These factors should be considered when devising pain management strategies for this population.