Ultrasound-guided injection acupotomy as a minimally invasive intervention therapy for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy: a randomized control trial.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided injection acupotomy as a minimally invasive intervention treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR). METHODS: 160 CSR subjects were recruited who met the inclusion criteria in our hospital from October 2019 to December 2021. The subjects were randomly divided into the experimental and control group, with 80 cases in each. The experimental group received ultrasound-guided injection acupotomy as a minimally invasive intervention therapy. The control group received ultrasound-guided selective nerve root block (SNRB). The Odom's criteria clinical curative effect, visual analogue scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDI), and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36) were used to evaluate the outcome of subjects at several different points in time. RESULTS: At 30 min and 1 month after the end of treatment, there was no significant difference in any scores. However, after six months, the excellent and good rate was better in the experimental group compared to the control (RD = 0.175; 95% CI, 0.044-0.300, p = 0.009). The total effective rate was also better in the experimental group (RD = 0.126; 95% CI, 0.021-0.232, p = 0.018). In contrast, the VAS score (MD = -0.500; 95% CI, -1.000-0.000, p = 0.030) and NDI score (MD = -6.460; 95% CI, -11.067 to -1.852, p = 0.006) were lower in the experimental group compared to the control. The total SF-36 score was higher in the experimental group (MD = 7.568; 95% CI, 2.459-12.677, p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-guided injection acupotomy minimally invasive interventional treatment of CSR has no significant difference in short-term curative effect compared with ultrasound-guided SNRB, but the data indicators are significantly better than the latter at 6 months after the end of the course of treatment, showing better long-term efficacy.

Risk Factors for the Onset of Frozen Shoulder in Middle-Aged and Elderly Subjects Within 1 Year of Discharge From a Hospitalization That Involved Intravenous Infusion: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Aim: To investigate the incidence of frozen shoulder and risk factors for the onset of frozen shoulder in middle-aged and elderly subjects within 1 year of discharge from a hospitalization that involved intravenous infusion in Zhangjiagang Second People's Hospital. Methods: A total of 1,900 subjects who were discharged from a hospitalization that involved intravenous infusion in the hospital between May 2020 and September 2020 met the inclusion criteria for this study: 950 subjects had a mean daily duration of intravenous infusion ≤ 2 h (low exposure) and 950 subjects had a mean daily duration of intravenous infusion ≥3 h (high exposure). Subjects were followed up by telephone at 6 months ± 1 week and 12 months ± 1 week after discharge the incidence of frozen shoulder. Results: The cumulative incidence rate of frozen shoulder within 1 year of discharge was 5.2%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed the risk of frozen shoulder was higher in subjects with a mean daily duration of intravenous infusion ≥3 h compared to ≤ 2 h (OR = 3.082, 95% CI 1.919-4.949, P < 0.001); subjects hospitalized for 11-30 days had a higher risk of frozen shoulder compared to those hospitalized for 10 days or less (OR = 6.836, 95%CI 4.363-10.709, P < 0.001); subjects who were overweight/ obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) had a higher risk of frozen shoulder compared to those of normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) (OR = 2.166, 95%CI 1.376-3.410, P = 0.001); subjects in the 56-70-year-old age group had a higher risk of developing frozen shoulder compared to those in the 40-55-year-old age group (OR = 1.977, 95%CI 1.154-3.387, P = 0.013); diabetes increased the risk of frozen shoulder (OR = 3.009, 95%CI 1.826-4.959, P < 0.001). The 71-85 years old age group and hypertension were statistically significant in univariate analysis but not in multivariate analysis (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with middle-aged and elderly in the general population, middle-aged and elderly subjects who received intravenous infusion during a hospitalization had a higher cumulative incidence rate of frozen shoulder within 1 year after discharge. Independent risk factors for the onset of frozen shoulder included mean daily duration of intravenous infusion ≥3 h, length of hospital stay 11-30 days, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, age 56-70 years, and diabetes.

[Clinical application study of acupotomy-injection technique with targeted three-point in the treatment of frozen shoulder].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of minimally invasive acupotomy-injection technique with targeted three-point in the treatment of frozen shoulder. METHODS: From March 2017 to November 2018, a total of 140 patients with frozen shoulder were randomly divided into observation group and control group. The observation group was made up of 70 patients, including 30 males and 40 females; the mean age was (59.2±11.5) years old; the mean duration of disease was (6.76±4.14) months; the observed patients were treated with acupotomy-injection technique with targeted three-point. There were also 70 patients in the control group, made up of 29 males and 41 females; the mean age was (58.9±11.8) years old; the mean duration of disease was (6.65±3.98) months; the control group was treated with the small needle knife therapy. Before treatment and one month after the treatment, the pain levels of both groups were assessed using the short-form McGill pain questionnaire, and the shoulder function was evaluated using the Constant-Murley Shoulder Outcome Scoring. The clinical efficacy of between groups was compared after treatment, and finally, the improvement rate of pain degree was used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of the patients. RESULTS: The PRI, VAS, PPI and total pain scores of frozen shoulder patients in both groups decreased significantly one month after the treatment compared with those before treatment (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the observation group exhibited a more significant decrease in pain scores (P<0.01). Furthermore, the shoulder pain, muscle strength, ADL, ROM and total function scores of frozen shoulder patients in the two groups were significantly improved one month after the treatment compared with those before treatment(P<0.01). The inter-group comparison indicated that the pain, ADL, ROM and total function scores were improved obviously in the observation group when compared to those in the control group(P<0.01), but no remarkable difference was found between muscle strength score and the control group(P>0.05). In addition, the markedly effective rate of pain improvement was 70.0% and 45.7% in the observation group and the control group, respectively, meanwhile, the corresponding total effective rate was 97.1% and 84.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The application of acupotomy-injection technique with targeted three-point in the treatment of frozen shoulder shows definite efficacy, easy operation, little pain and high safety. Therefore, it is an ideal method for minimally invasive treatment.