Thoracic Spine Pain

Author(s):  
Mark R. Jones ◽  
Matthew Novitch ◽  
Graham R. Hadley ◽  
Alan D. Kaye ◽  
Sudhir A. Diwan

Thoracic spinal pain (TSP) tends to receive less attention from clinical, epidemiologic, and genetic research communities owing to a reduced incidence in comparison to pain arising from cervical and lumbar derangement. Nevertheless, TSP can be similarly disabling to other forms of spinal pain, imposing significant burdens on the individual and society. Thoracic pain may arise from a multitude of underlying pathologies, including angina pectoris, herpes zoster infection, thoracic disc herniations, pulmonary or pleural tumors, and aneurysms. This chapter focuses on TSP of musculoskeletal origin; however, a thorough history and physical are imperative to avoid overlooking a potentially life-threatening condition.

Author(s):  
Pravin Ashok Mali

Cervical erosion is one of the causative factors for vaginal discharge. Cervical erosion, a benign lesion is sometimes much troublesome due to its chronic nature and recurrence. Cauterization and cryosurgery are most common treatment for cervical erosion in modern science. Certain diseases may not be life threatening but may be troublesome and irritating to the individual in her routine activity. When neglected may lead to serious complications or turn into major life threatening condition. Cervical erosion is one among them, increasingly prevalent nowadays, demanding great concern over it. Cervical erosion is a common gynaecological disease and seen in about 80-85% of women. As per Ayurveda classics Garbhashaya grivamukhagatavrana can be correlated with cervical erosion. Various research has been done in ayurveda on its treatment. One such compound Ghrut can be used incorporation with other treatment. This article is to enlighten on the same.


Author(s):  
Surat Tongyoo ◽  
Suneerat Kongsayreepong

During the current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support could be considered as the rescue treatment from life threatening condition among severe COVID-19 patients who did not respond to mechanical ventilation. We propose that veno-venous ECMO should be considered if patient has persistence PaO2:FiO2 ratio lower than 100 mmHg after appropriate mechanical ventilator adjustment, muscle relaxant and prone position. During ECMO support, treatment against cytokine storm, including non-selective immune suppression with systemic steroid, or selective interleukin-6 inhibition and Janus Kinase inhibition should be considered. Heparin infusion is still the recommended anticoagulant to maintain activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ratio range 1.5-2.0. The overall hospital mortality was comparable with respiratory failure patients, requiring ECMO support from other causes, which was reported about 37-50%. The decision to initiate ECMO could be depended on the individual hospital capacity and treatment availability.


1987 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 286-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
F E Bruckner ◽  
S A Allard ◽  
N A Moussa

Seventy-three patients with mid-dorsal and/or unilateral chest pain seen consecutively in the rheumatology clinic by a single clinician over a three-year period were studied, after exclusion of visceral disease. The majority were young women. The pain was dull and continuous, was aggravated by coughing and sneezing and relieved by rest. There was frequently tenderness over the thoracic spine (T4–5) and an adjacent rib, and pain at extremes of thoracic spinal movement in one or two directions was invariable. Cutaneous hyperaesthesia in a radicular distribution was found in 16.4%, but there were no other neurological abnormalities. This clinical picture is probably the result of a thoracic disc prolapse, though confirmation by myelography was not thought to be ethically justified. The condition settled in most of the patients following manipulative treatment and advice on back care. No patient developed spinal cord compression. It is concluded that this is a common benign condition which deserves wider recognition.


2021 ◽  

The purpose of this study was to review data on restraint related deaths in persons in a state of excited delirium (ExDS) and to propose guidelines for treatment. We analysed three unexpected deaths in persons in a state of ExDS shortly after police restraint. Death which occurs during a police intervention, using physical restraints, may be related to placing the individual in a prone position, the use of neck holds, expert grips, and handcuffs or pepper spray. ExDS results in an altered mental state with agitation, aggression, paranoia, and panic attacks, and is a life-threatening condition. Therefore, before police intervention is initiated, a medical emergency team should be present. In patients with ExDS, physical restraints used by the police should be brief, effective, and include rapid tranquilization (sedation) using benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
pp. E72-E83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Kley ◽  
Tobias Schmidt-Wilcke ◽  
Matthias Vorgerd

AbstractElevated serum creatine kinase (CK) activity is usually an indicator of muscle damage. HyperCKemia is often an incidental finding and should be controlled after refraining from physical activity for some days, especially in asymptomatic patients. Furthermore, data from recent studies indicate that the upper limits of normal (ULN) need to be revised upward. This review includes an algorithm for the differential diagnosis of CK elevation in patients without muscular symptoms. In the field of neurology, in particular myopathies and neuropathies with affection of the lower motor neuron can cause symptomatic hyperCKemia, with CK values >1000 U/l (16,7 µkat/l) being indicative of a primary muscle disorder. Diseases with very high CK values include subtypes of muscular dystrophies, idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and metabolic myopathies. However, a normal or only slightly elevated CK value does not exclude the presence of a myopathy. The individual diagnostic procedure (e. g., muscle imaging, special laboratory studies, muscle biopsy and genetic testing) depends on the clinical phenotype and the results of electrophysiological studies. HyperCKemia can also be an adverse effect of several drugs including statins. In asymptomatic patients, statin-associated CK elevations <5 times the ULN can be tolerated. In patients with higher CK values and/or muscle symptoms, LDL-cholesterol lowering therapy should be changed. Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially life-threatening condition and is accompanied by highly elevated CK values. Acute phase treatment includes preserving renal function and restoring metabolic derangements.


2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli M. Baron ◽  
Howard B. Levene ◽  
Joshua E. Heller ◽  
Jack I. Jallo ◽  
Christopher M. Loftus ◽  
...  

Neuroendoscopy has grown rapidly in the last 20 years as a therapeutic modality for treating a variety of spinal disorders. Spinal endoscopy has been widely used to treat patients with cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral disorders safely and effectively. Although it is most commonly used with minimally invasive lumbar spine surgery, endoscopy has gained widespread acceptance for the treatment of thoracic disc herniations and for anterior release and rod implantation in the correction of thoracic spinal deformity. The authors review the use of endoscopy in spine surgery and in the treatment of spinal disorders as well as in the treatment of intrathoracic nonspinal lesions. Endoscopy has some significant advantages over open or other minimally invasive techniques in that it can allow for better visualization of the lesion, smaller incision sizes with reduced morbidity and mortality, reduced hospital stays, and ultimately lower cost. In addition, spinal endoscopy allows observers and operating room staff to be more involved in each case and fosters education. Spinal endoscopy, like any novel modality, carries with it additional risks and the surgeon must always be prepared to convert to an open procedure. The learning curve for spinal endoscopy is steep and the procedure should not be attempted alone by a novice surgeon. Nevertheless, with training and experience, the spine surgeon can achieve better outcomes, reduced morbidity, and better cosmesis with spinal endoscopy, and the operating times are comparable to open procedures. As technology evolves and more experience is obtained, neuroendoscopy will likely achieve further roles as a mainstay in spine surgery.


VASA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 381-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Mako ◽  
Attila Puskas

Summary. Iliac vein compression syndrome (May-Thurner syndrome – MTS) is an anatomically variable clinical condition in which the left common iliac vein is compressed between the right common iliac artery and the underlying spine. This anatomic variant results in an increased incidence of left iliac or iliofemoral vein thrombosis. It predominantly affects young women in the second or third decades of life with preponderance during pregnancy or oral contraceptive use. Although MTS is rare, its true prevalence is underestimated but it can be a life-threatening condition due to development of pulmonary embolism (PE). In this case based review the authors present three cases of MTS. All patients had been previously confirmed with PE, but despite they were admitted to hospital, diagnosed and correctly treated for PE and investigated for thrombophilia, the iliac vein compression syndrome was not suspected or investigated. With this presentation the authors would like to emphasize that MTS is mostly underdiagnosed, and it needs to be ruled out in left iliofemoral vein thrombosis in young individuals.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-558
Author(s):  
Alina Popp

Background: Alveolar hemorrhage is a potentially life-threatening condition which is usually managed by the pulmonologist. When considering its etiology, there is a rare association that sets the disease into the hands of the gastroenterologist. Case presentation: We report the case of a 48 year-old female who was admitted to the intensive care unit for severe anemia and hemoptysis. On imaging, diffuse pulmonary infiltrates suggestive of alveolar hemorrhage were detected and a diagnosis of pulmonary hemosiderosis was made. She received cortisone therapy and hematologic correction of anemia, with slow recovery. In search of an etiology for the pulmonary hemosiderosis, an extensive workup was done, and celiac disease specific serology was found positive. After confirmation of celiac disease by biopsy, a diagnosis of Lane-Hamilton syndrome was established. The patient was recommended a gluten-free diet and at 6 months follow-up, resolution of anemia and pulmonary infiltrates were observed. Conclusion: Although the association is rare, celiac disease should be considered in a patient with idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis. In our case, severe anemia and alveolar infiltrates markedly improved with glucocorticoids and gluten-free diet. Abbreviations: APTT: activated partial thromboplastin time; BAL: bronchoalveolar lavage; CD: celiac disease; Cd: crypt depth; GFD: gluten-free diet; GI: gastrointestinal; IEL: intraepithelial lymphocyte; INR: international normalized ratio; IPH: idiopathic pu


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madan Goyal ◽  
R K Goel

Acute cholecystitis (AC) is a potentially life-threatening condition. LC was initially considered to be a relative contraindication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), but with increase in general expertise, early LC was recommended in selected patients1. Aprospective study of LC in grade 1 and 2 AC patients with mild to moderate inflammatory changes in the gallbladder and no significant organ dysfunction, was performed during October 2016 to July 2019. A total of 78 patients, out of 408 cholecystectomies performed during this period, were included in this study. Criteria for diagnosing AC was, recent onset of pain in right hypochondrium, fever, leucocytosis, pericholecystic fluid collections, subserosal oedema on ultrasound, pyocele and other pathological evidence of AC. Patients presented and operated within 4 days of onset of symptoms showed better results as compared to those who could be operated after 4 days and within 14 days. Five patients required conversion to open cholecystectomy because of complex adhesions in 2, critical view of safety was unachievable in 2 and in 1 for troublesome bleeding.


Impact ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-54
Author(s):  
Nicolas Lamontagne

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive life–shortening disease caused by a mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene leading to a dysfunctional CFTR protein. The disease affects over 70,000 patients worldwide and while many mutations are known, the F508del mutation affects 90% of all patients. The absence of CFTR in the plasma membrane leads to a dramatic decrease in chloride efflux, resulting in viscous mucus that causes severe symptoms in vital organs like the lungs and intestines. For CF patients that suffer from the life threatening F508del mutation only palliative treatment exist. PRO–CF–MED addresses the specific challenge of this call by introducing the first disease modifying medication for the treatment of the CF patients with F508del mutation. The PRO–CF–MED project has been designed to assess the potential clinical efficacy of QR–010, an innovative disease modifying oligonucleotide–based treatment for F508del patients. Partners within PRO–CF–MED have generated very promising preclinical evidence for QR–010 which allows for further clinical assessment of QR–010 in clinical trials. PRO–CF–MED will enable the fast translation of QR–010 towards clinical practice and market authorisation. PRO–CF–MED has the potential to transform this life–threatening condition into a manageable one.


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