Clinical Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Endometriosis Unresponsive to Conventional Therapy

Background: Although several treatments are currently available for chronic pelvic pain, 30–60% of patients do not respond to them. Therefore, these therapeutic options require a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying endometriosis-induced pain. This study focuses on pain management after failure of conventional therapy. Methods: We reviewed clinical data from 46 patients with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain unresponsive to conventional therapies at Puerta de Hierro University Hospital Madrid, Spain from 2018 to 2021. Demographic data, clinical and exploratory findings, treatment received, and outcomes were collected. Results: Median age was 41.5 years, and median pain intensity was VAS: 7.8/10. Nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain were identified in 98% and 70% of patients, respectively. The most common symptom was abdominal pain (78.2%) followed by pain with sexual intercourse (65.2%), rectal pain (52.1%), and urologic pain (36.9%). A total of 43% of patients responded to treatment with neuromodulators. Combined therapies for myofascial pain syndrome, as well as treatment of visceral pain with inferior or superior hypogastric plexus blocks, proved to be very beneficial. S3 pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) plus inferior hypogastric plexus block or botulinum toxin enabled us to prolong response time by more than 3.5 months. Conclusion: Treatment of the unresponsive patient should be interdisciplinary. Depending on the history and exploratory findings, therapy should preferably be combined with neuromodulators, myofascial pain therapies, and S3 PRF plus inferior hypogastric plexus blockade.

Adalimumab in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease Refractory to Conventional Therapy

Background: No study explores the effectiveness of adalimumab in sight-threatening Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) patients in China.Objective: To evaluate the short-term effectiveness and safety of adalimumab (ADA) in patients with sight-threatening Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease refractory to conventional therapy.Methods: Medical records of VKH patients who had been treated with systemic glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants but whose condition was poorly controlled were collected and analyzed. Primary outcomes comprised of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular inflammation, relapses, and glucocorticoid-sparing effects. Other outcomes included central macular thickness (CMT), intraocular manifestations and adverse events (AEs).Results: Nine refractory VKH patients with a median age of 30 (16, 43) years old were enrolled in this study and received treatment for a median of 10 (7, 11) months. Mean BCVA improved from LogMar 0.63 ± 0.50 (20/72 or 0.36 ± 0.26 in Snellen chart) at baseline to LogMar 0.50 ± 0.37 (20/82 or 0.41 ± 0.28 in Snellen chart) at final visit (P = 0.090). The anterior chamber cell grade decreased from 2 (1.75, 3)+ at baseline to 0.5 (0, 1.25)+ cell at final visit (P < 0.001). The vitritis grade decreased from 1 (1, 1) + cell at baseline to 0 (0, 1)+ cell at final visit (P < 0.001). Patients suffered a median of 1 (0, 2) relapse during treatment. CMT remained stable from 238.50 ± 144.94 μm at baseline to 219.28 ± 77.20 μm at final visit (P = 0.553). The mean prednisone dosage decreased from 21.91 ± 18.39 mg/d to 2.73 ± 4.10 mg/d (P = 0.005). No severe AEs were found during treatment.Conclusions: The outcomes indicated that ADA was an effective and safe option for VKH patients refractory to conventional therapy by controlling inflammation, preserving visual function and reducing the daily glucocorticoid dose.

An overview of dysphagia rehabilitation for stroke patients

ABSTRACT Background: Dysphagia is characterized by difficulty in the swallowing pattern at any stage of this neuromuscular process. It is a frequent symptom after stroke. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the most commonly used phonoaudiological interventions as therapy for the treatment of swallowing disorders in patients with dysphagia after stroke. Methods: We performed a review of studies indexed in MEDLINE-PubMed, LILACS, Cochrane, and Clinical trials.gov focusing on speech-language interventions for adult dysphagic patients after stroke between January 2008 and January 2021. Results: Thirty-six articles of clinical trials were selected. Eleven different types of therapies have been studied. Studies on the efficacy of therapeutic interventions for the rehabilitation of adult patients with dysphagia after stroke are still scarce. Most techniques are combined with conventional therapy, so the effectiveness of the other techniques alone cannot be assessed. Conclusions: Therapeutic interventions should be selected in accordance with the possibilities and limitations of the patients, and especially with the findings of the clinical evaluation and with its objective.

Effect of Short Foot Exercises on Patients with Flexible Flat Foot: A Pre-Post Experimental Study

Background: When one malleolus was lower than the other malleoli and calcaneal eversion with depressed medial longitudinal arch, pronated sub-talar joint and calcaneus assuming a valgus position underweight bearing condition, known as flatfoot or Pes Planus. Generally 20-30 % of the population between the age group 18-25 had the characteristic of a Pes Planus also known as flat foot. The intent of this experiment was to investigate the effect of 4 week Short Foot Exercise Program on intrinsic foot muscles leading to improvement in performance grade classified as from fair to good. Method: An experimental study conducted at Dr. D.Y. Patil College of physiotherapy, Pimpri, Pune comprising of 30 individuals using Simple Random sampling. Participants were divided into two groups 15 participant each Group A(15) was Conventional Therapy and Group B(15) was Short Foot Exercise progression. The subjects were each given a consent form. The purpose of the study was explained to all the participants and an informed consent was taken from each subject. Navicular Drop Test (r=0.92) was used as an Outcome Measure. Results: There was clinically and statistically significant difference in Group B(Short Foot Exercise Progression) than Group A(Conventional Therapy) (p<0.005 and mean of group A more than B) pre and post 2nd Week treatment and Post 4th week Treatment. Conclusion: The Short Foot Exercise is more effective in improving Medial Longitudinal Arch intrinsic muscle activation as compare to Conventional Group. The 4 week Short foot exercise program improved foot intrinsic muscle activity in people with flat foot. However Group B that is Short Foot Exercises shows better improvement in medial longitudinal arch than Group A That is Conventional Group. Key words: Pes Planus, Flat Foot, Navicular Drop Test, Foot biomechanics, 4 week Short Foot Exercise Progression.

Effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulants in the treatment of acute venous thromboembolism: A nationwide comparative cohort study in France

Introduction: Data from clinical trials indicate that direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are non-inferior and safer than conventional therapy (low-molecular weight heparin followed by a vitamin K antagonist [VKA]) for treating venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (PE). This study compared the effectiveness and safety of DOACs and conventional therapy in a real-world setting. Materials and Methods: This observational study used French national claims data of adult, treatment-naïve patients diagnosed with VTE (majority PE) who were hospitalized and treated for VTE with a DOAC (apixaban or rivaroxaban) or VKAs during 2013–2018. Patients with active cancer were excluded. After propensity score matching for each DOAC-VKA comparison, risks of bleeding, recurrent VTE, and all-cause mortality were compared at 6 months. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios of the endpoints. Results: 58137 patients were included (10775 VKAs, 10440 apixaban, 36922 rivaroxaban). Propensity score-matched cohort sizes were 7503 for apixaban and 9179 for rivaroxaban. The hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) was significantly lower for apixaban than VKAs for bleeding requiring hospitalization (0.43 [0.32-0.59]), all-cause death (0.61 [0.51-0.74]), and first-recurrent VTE (0.67 [0.52-0.85]). The hazard ratio was also significantly lower for rivaroxaban than VKAs for all-cause death (0.63 [0.53-0.74]) but not for bleeding requiring hospitalization (0.86 [0.69-1.07]) or first-recurrent VTE (0.91 [0.74-1.13]). Conclusions: Apixaban was associated with superior safety and effectiveness than VKAs. All-cause mortality was lower in both DOACs than VKAs. Our results support recommendations to use DOACs over VKAs for the treatment of VTE.

Clinical, immunomodulating and anti-recidive effects of ozone therapy in persistent allergic rhinitis in children

Research оbjective.To determine the effect of ozone therapy on clinical indicators and the state of immunity in children with moderate persistent allergic rhinitis. Material and methods. The study included children aged 5-10 years with moderate persis-tent allergic rhinitis, which were divided into two groups depending on the therapy. The first group of patients with allergic rhinitis received complex conventional therapy, the second group of patients with allergic rhinitis received complex treatment in combination with ozone therapy. Clinical parameters were studied in patients with allergic rhinitis, parameters of im-munological reactivity were investigated during periods of exacerbation of the disease and clinical remission. Results. It was found that the inclusion of ozone therapy in the complex treatment of patients of the second group ensured a faster onset of complete clinical remission (3.7 days earlier than in the first group of patients) and normalization of most immunity parameters, and also increased the expression of toll-like receptors on leukocyte cells. The duration of complete clinical remission in the group of patients with allergic rhinitis who received complex treatment in combination with ozone therapy (9.3 + 2 months) more than doubled (2.4 times) its duration in the group of patients with allergic rhinitis who received complex conventional therapy (3.9 + 0.3 months).

Effectiveness of Progressive Resisted Exercise along with Conventional Exercise and Conventional Exercise Program alone in Subjects with Text Neck Syndrome

Background: "Text neck" is a term coined to describe the posture created by leaning forward for lengthy periods of time, such as when reading and texting on a cellphone which has been linked to stress injuries. Neck pain, upper back discomfort, shoulder pain, frequent headaches, and greater curvature of the spine are all dangerous indications of text neck. According to a survey, 35% of smartphone users suffer from text neck syndrome. People between the ages of 15 and 18 are more likely to have neck pain. This protocol has been created that describes the design of comparative study to evaluate effectiveness of progressive resisted exercise along with conventional exercise and conventional exercise program alone in text neck syndrome. Methods: The participants (n=80) will be recruited in the study suffering from text neck syndrome and meeting the inclusion criteria. Two groups will be formed such that patients in group A will be treated with conventional therapy and group B will be treated with progressive resisted exercise (PRE) along with conventional therapy. The protocol will cover 4 weeks of treatment. In the rehabilitation period, we will evaluate the pain intensity, strength of neck muscles and functional activity. Our outcome measures will be- Numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and Neck disability index (NDI). Discussion: Efficacy of the intervention will be evaluated by analyzing the pain intensity by using Numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and level of functional disability by using Neck disability index (NDI). The result of the study will significantly provide affirmation on either using combination therapy of PRE with conventional exercise or conventional exercise alone.

The Effect of Whole-Body Vibration on Proprioception and Motor Function for Individuals with Moderate Parkinson Disease: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction. Previous studies have shown that whole-body vibration (WBV) may have a potential impact on gait and balance in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, this body of work has proven inconclusive due to the diverse disease progression and broad age range associated with PD. The effects of WBV on proprioception, a sense frequently affected by PD, has rarely been studied. Objective. To investigate the short-term effect of WBV on proprioception and motor function for individual with moderate PD. Design. A single-blind randomized controlled trial. Setting. A hospital and a laboratory. Participants. 32 participants with moderate PD were recruited and randomly assigned into either the WBV or conventional therapy groups. Interventions. For the WBV group, each treatment session included five, one-minute bouts of whole-body vibration paired with one-minute rest (frequency: 6 Hz; amplitude: 3 mm). Each conventional therapy participant received balance and mobility training for 10 minutes. Main Outcome Measures. Outcome measures included proprioceptive sensitivity of the upper limb, position sense of the knee joint, Unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale : motor section (UPDRS-motor), functional reach test (FRT), and the timed up and go test (TUG). Results. No statistically significant difference was found between groups. However, both groups showed a significant improvement in motor function after treatment, including UPDRS-motor ( P = 0.04 ), less affected side of FRT ( P = 0.019 ), and TUG ( P = 0.006 ). Conclusions. Although the effect of WBV was not superior to the conventional therapy, it provided a passive and safe clinical intervention as an alternative treatment, especially for individuals with motor impairment or poor balance function.

Treatment of chronic resistant paediatric idiopathic pericardial effusion with intrapericardial injection of corticosteroids 4-year-old girl with rapid full resolution after intrapericardial injection of corticosteroids

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the conventional treatment for pericarditis. However, some patients will still suffer from persistence pericardial effusion despite exhausting all conventional management options. A 4-year-old girl with idiopathic pericardial effusion who did not respond to 2 months of conventional therapy had complete resolution of effusion within 5 days, with no recurrence after administration of intrapericardial steroids. As far as we know, this is the first published paediatric case who has shown a similar outcome to that seen in adult studies.