Treating peripheral neuropathy in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus with intraneural facilitation: a single blind randomized control trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of intraneural facilitation (INF) for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). METHODS: This single-blind, randomized clinical trial enrolled patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and moderate-to-severe DPN symptoms below the ankle. Patients were randomly assigned to receive INF or sham treatment. In the INF group, trained INF physical therapists provided therapy for 50-60 min, three times a week for 3 weeks. Sham treatment consisted of patients believing they received anodyne therapy for 3 weeks. Pre- and post-treatment data were compared between the two groups for quality of life, balance, gait, protective sensory function and pain outcome measures. RESULTS: A total of 28 patients (17 males) were enrolled in the study (INF group n = 17; sham group n = 11). There was a significant decrease in the overall pain score in both the INF and sham groups over time, but the decrease was greater in the INF group (1.11 versus 0.82). Between-group comparisons demonstrated significant differences in unpleasant pain and protective sensory function. The INF group showed post-treatment improvements in protective sensory function and composite static balance score. CONCLUSIONS: INF treatment improved pain perception, the composite static balance score and protective sensations in patients with DPN.Research Registry number: CNCT04025320.

Infection risk from the use of continuous local-anesthetic infusion pain pumps in aesthetic and reconstructive abdominal procedures.

Postoperative pain control after abdominal procedures can be an area of significant concern. Continuous local-anesthetic infusion pain pumps have been clearly documented in recent literature to provide effective early postoperative pain control, in addition to other benefits. Our goal was to evaluate any increase in the risk of infection with the use of pain pumps with aesthetic and reconstructive abdominal procedures. A retrospective chart review evaluated 159 patients who underwent abdominoplasty (with or without suction-assisted lipectomy), panniculectomy, or a transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap for breast reconstruction. Information was collected on descriptive and demographic information, and the incidence of postoperative infection. Of the 159 patients who underwent abdominal procedures, 100 (62.9%) received the pain pump for postoperative pain control. None of those 100 patients developed an infection. Fifty-nine patients did not receive a pain pump, and 2 of those patients (3.3%) developed an infection. Overall, 1.3% (2 of 159) of patients in our study developed a postoperative infection. There is no increase in the risk of postoperative infection with the use of continuous local-anesthetic infusion pain pumps used after aesthetic and reconstructive abdominal procedures.