• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.254-264
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• 2015

Background: Pain medicine often requires medico-legal involvement, even though diagnosis and treatments have improved considerably. Multiple guidelines for pain physicians contain many recommendations regarding interventional treatment. Unfortunately, no definite treatment guidelines exist because there is no complete consensus among individual guidelines. Pain intervention procedures are widely practiced and highly associated with adverse events and complications. However, a comprehensive, systemic review of medical-dispute cases (MDCs) in Korea has not yet been reported. The purpose of this article is to analyze the frequency and type of medical dispute activity undertaken by pain specialists in Korea. Methods: Data on medical disputes cases were collected through the Korea Medical Association mutual aid and through a private medical malpractice liability insurance company. Data regarding the frequency and type of MDCs, along with brief case descriptions, were obtained. Results: Pain in the lumbar region made up a major proportion of MDCs and compensation costs. Infection, nerve injury, and diagnosis related cases were the most major contents of MDCs. Only a small proportion of cases involved patient death or unconsciousness, but compensation costs were the highest. Conclusions: More systemic guidelines and recommendations on interventional pain management are needed, especially those focused on medico-legal cases. Complications arising from pain management procedures and treatments may be avoided by physicians who have the required knowledge and expertise regarding anatomy and pain intervention procedures and know how to recognize procedural aberrations as soon as they occur.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.210-218
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• 2014

Brachial plexus injury is a potential complication of a brachial plexus block or vessel puncture. It results from direct needle trauma, neurotoxicity of injection agents and hematoma formation. The neurological presentation may range from minor transient pain to severe sensory disturbance or motor loss with poor recovery. The management includes conservative treatment and surgical exploration. Especially if a hematoma forms, it should be removed promptly. Comprehensive knowledge of anatomy and adept skills are crucial to avoid nerve injuries. Whenever possible, the patient should not be heavily sedated and should be encouraged to immediately inform the doctor of any experience of numbness/paresthesia during the nerve block or vessel puncture.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.145-159
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• 2024

Dental injections are routinely performed and can result in pain and anxiety in patients. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in dental injections for pain management in patients undergoing dental treatment. Indexed databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane Library, were electronically searched without a time limit up to February 2024. A risk of bias evaluation was performed using the Cochrane tool. A preliminary investigation using electronic and manual methods yielded 4,920,881 manuscripts. Based on the eligibility requirements, 13 randomized control trials (RCTs) were included. Self-assessed pain was determined using the visual analog scale, Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Controllability scale, or Wong-Baker face pain scale. Eight RCTs demonstrated a notable decrease in needle pain in patients undergoing dental needle injections using PBMT. Based on current evidence, PBMT may help reduce needle pain related to dental anesthesia. Further standardized studies are needed to assess the significance of PBMT for postoperative pain in patients undergoing dental injections.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was done to analyze nursing assessment and nursing care for pain in the electronic nursing records for the elderly patients with abdominal pain visiting the Emergency Medical Center. Methods: This study is a descriptive study based on nursing records from January to December 2015. A total of 1155 records for elderly patients with abdominal pain were gathered. Results: The mean age of elderly patients whose records were analyzed was 75.2 years. Analysis of nursing records regarding pain management showed that semi-urgent severity (93.7%), direct emergency room visits (58%), and 6.01 hours of emergency room stay (6.01 hours)were the most frequently documented characteristics of the elderly patients with pain complaints. Recording time of nursing assessment for abdominal patients was 1.01 hour; the average pain intensity was 3.97. The mostly used nursing intervention for abdominal pain was medication (65.1%). There was no record of non-pharmacological pain nursing interventions. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that improving knowledge and nursing practice for pain management is much of necessity. In particular, development of the non-pharmacological nursing interventions for pain is needed. Further research is also imperative to develop and evaluate record systems for pain management that can be used in the emergency room.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.151-155
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• 2005

Background: A significant number of patients complain of persistent pain or neurologic symptoms after lower back surgery. It is reported that facet joint pain plays a role in failed back surgery syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, there are few studies that have investigated the outcome of radiofrequency neurotomy in the patients with failed back surgery syndrome. Methods: The study group was composed of thirteen patients who were operated on due to their low back pain, and they displayed no postoperative improvement. All the patients underwent double diagnostic block of the lumbar medial branch of the dorsal rami with using 0.5% bupivacaine. The patients who revealed a positive response to the double diagnostic block were then treated with percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy. The effect on their pain was evaluated with using a 4 point Likert scale. Results: Eleven patients revealed a positive response to the double diagnostic block. Ten patients were given percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy. Nine patients showed sustained pain relief for 3 months after the percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy. Conclusions: We found lumbar facet joint syndrome in the patients with failed back surgery syndrome by performing double diagnostic block and achieving pain relief during the short term follow-up after percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy of the lumbar zygapophysial joints. This suggested that facet joint pain should be included in failed back surgery syndrome.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.255-267
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• 2018

Inflammation is one of the main causes of pathologic pain. Knowledge of the molecular links between inflammatory signals and pain-mediating neuronal signals is essential for understanding the mechanisms behind pain exacerbation. Some inflammatory mediators directly modulate the excitability of pain-mediating neurons by contacting the receptor molecules expressed in those neurons. For decades, many discoveries have accumulated regarding intraneuronal signals from receptor activation through electrical depolarization for bradykinin, a major inflammatory mediator that is able to both excite and sensitize pain-mediating nociceptor neurons. Here, we focus on the final effectors of depolarization, the neuronal ion channels, whose functionalities are specifically affected by bradykinin stimulation. Particular G-protein coupled signaling cascades specialized for each specific depolarizer ion channels are summarized. Some of these ion channels not only serve as downstream effectors but also play critical roles in relaying specific pain modalities such as thermal or mechanical pain. Accordingly, specific pain phenotypes altered by bradykinin stimulation are also discussed. Some members of the effector ion channels are both activated and sensitized by bradykinin-induced neuronal signaling, while others only sensitized or inhibited, which are also introduced. The present overview of the effect of bradykinin on nociceptor neuronal excitability at the molecular level may contribute to better understanding of an important aspect of inflammatory pain and help future design of further research on the components involved and pain modulating strategies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.55-62
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• 2019

PURPOSE: Text-mining has been shown to be useful for understanding the clinical characteristics and patients' concerns regarding a specific disease. Low back pain (LBP) is the most common disease in modern society and has a wide variety of causes and symptoms. On the other hand, it is difficult to understand the clinical characteristics and the needs as well as demands of patients with LBP because of the various clinical characteristics. This study examined online texts on LBP to determine of text-mining can help better understand general characteristics of LBP and its specific elements. METHODS: Online data from www.spine-health.com were used for text-mining. Keyword frequency analysis was performed first on the complete text of postings (full-text analysis). Only the sentences containing the highest frequency word, pain, were selected. Next, texts including the sentences were used to re-analyze the keyword frequency (pain-text analysis). RESULTS: Keyword frequency analysis showed that pain is of utmost concern. Full-text analysis was dominated by structural, pathological, and therapeutic words, whereas pain-text analysis was related mainly to the location and quality of the pain. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that text-mining for a specific element (keyword) of a particular disease could enhance the understanding of the specific aspect of the disease. This suggests that a consideration of the text source is required when interpreting the results. Clinically, the present results suggest that clinicians pay more attention to the pain a patient is experiencing, and provide information based on medical knowledge.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2019

Neuropathic pain is a complex chronic pain state caused by the dysfunction of somatosensory nervous system, and it affects the millions of people worldwide. At present, there are very few medical treatments available for neuropathic pain management and the intolerable side effects of medications may further worsen the symptoms. Despite the presence of profound knowledge that delineates the pathophysiology and mechanisms leading to neuropathic pain, the unmet clinical needs demand more research in this field that would ultimately assist to ameliorate the pain conditions. Efforts are being made globally to explore and understand the basic molecular mechanisms responsible for somatosensory dysfunction in preclinical pain models. The present review highlights some of the novel molecular targets like D-amino acid oxidase, endoplasmic reticulum stress receptors, sigma receptors, hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channels, histone deacetylase, $Wnt/{\beta}-catenin$ and Wnt/Ryk, ephrins and Eph receptor tyrosine kinase, Cdh-1 and mitochondrial ATPase that are implicated in the induction of neuropathic pain. Studies conducted on the different animal models and observed results have been summarized with an aim to facilitate the efforts made in the drug discovery. The diligent analysis and exploitation of these targets may help in the identification of some promising therapies that can better manage neuropathic pain and improve the health of patients.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.347-352
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• 2017

Pain, an adaptive but unpleasant sensation, is the most common symptom of numerous diseases in humans and animals. Although animal patients express this symptom frequently, a lack of communication abilities hinders its recognition by veterinary physicians, thereby leading to unsatisfactory management of the symptom. On the other hand, pain itself has its own neurological mechanisms, regardless of the disease that causes it. Thus, a physician may need to know the mechanisms underlying pain development in order to properly manage the symptom in a particular disease. In this review, we attempt to provide a brief introduction to the anatomical, physiological, and neurological basis of pain transmission and sensation. Although most knowledge about these mechanisms comes from studies in humans and laboratory animals, it is generally applicable to pet, farm, or zoo animals. In addition, we summarize pain behavior in several pet, farm, and laboratory animals for its proper identification. This information will help to identify and manage pain, and thus improve welfare, in animals.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.121-129
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• 1989

Pain and pain management have long been items of central concern in dentistry. Although they are given little attention in orthodontics, virtually every patient wearing orthodontic appliances experiences and complains of some extent of pain, and someones have suffered from severe throbbing pain. A form of stimulation-produced analgesia, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a non-invasive, non-pharmacologic pain control techniques. The clinical application of TENS to orthodontic patients may lead to better patient compliance. And I want to discuss some basic knowledge of this TENS.