RESUMO
Phantom bladder pain, a rare condition following cystectomy, can pose a challenge to pain management providers. We present the case of a 43-year-old male who developed severe phantom bladder pain post-cystectomy. Despite multiple treatments, his symptoms persisted, significantly affecting his quality of life. Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRGS) was attempted after conventional therapies failed. The DRGS trial provided significant relief, leading to permanent implantation and a 90% reduction in pain. This case highlights DRGS as a potential treatment for phantom bladder pain, expanding its applications beyond traditional uses. Further research is needed to elucidate its mechanisms and broader applicability.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to explore medical students' attitudes and beliefs toward Latino patients, specifically: to assess students' levels of knowledge, cultural competence, and comfort with Latinos; to determine students' exposure to and previous experience with Latinos; and to evaluate whether factors such as study abroad, living abroad, previous clinical experience with Latinos, and language proficiency predict Latino knowledge, cultural competence, and comfort with Latinos. METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional survey design. Participants were third and fourth year medical students at three medical schools in the Southeastern United States. Three composite measures: Latino knowledge, Cultural competence, and Comfort with Latino patients, were predicted in a multivariate regression model including individual sociodemographic characteristics and past clinical or social experience with Latinos. RESULTS: A total of 170 medical students completed the survey (43% response rate). Spanish language proficiency was a statistically significant predictor (t(131)=2.72, p<0.05) of Latino knowledge. Social interaction with Latinos in the past year (t(126)=3.09, p<0.01), ever having lived in a Spanish-speaking country (t(126)=2.86, p<0.01), and Spanish language proficiency (t(126)=3.28, p<0.01) independently predicted cultural competence. Previous clinical experience with Latinos was not significantly associated with the three composite dependent variables, and comfort with Latino patients was not significantly predicted by any of the six Latino-related explanatory variables. CONCLUSIONS: Factors prior to medical school matriculation and during medical education may contribute to increased cultural competence and comfort with multicultural patients. Cultural patient-partner programs may be an effective way to increase cultural competence within the confines of medical school curricula.
