• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.76-79
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• 2013

During the early stage of postherpetic neuralgia, an epidural block on the affected segment is helpful in controlling pain and preventing progression to a chronic state. The main neurologic complication following an epidural block is cord compression symptom due to an epidural hematoma. When neurologic complications arise from an epidural block for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia, it is important to determine whether the complications are due to the procedure or due to the herpes zoster itself. We report a case of a patient who was diagnosed with herpes zoster myelitis during treatment for postherpetic neuralgia. The patient complained of motor weakness in the lower extremities after receiving a thoracic epidural block six times. Although initially, we believed that the complications were due to the epidural block, it was ultimately determined to be from the herpes zoster myelitis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 1988

Postherpetic neuralgia, the most feared complication of acute herpes zoster, may agonize the pain clinician because the appropriate management of intractable pain can fail inspite of various and prolonged therapeutic techniques. Of all patients with herpes zoster, approximately 5~10% will develop postherpetic neuralgia. Postherpetic neuralgia is very rare in young patient but very common in patients over 60. In other words, the older, the higher incidence. In our pain clinics, 13 postherpetic neuralgic patients were treated with sympathetic blocks, local infiltration with local anesthetics and steroids, TENS, Laser and various drugs including antiderpressant. The results of management of pain in 13 patents were as follows. 1. Excellent pain control :4(30.8%) 2. Good pain control :3(23.0%) 3. Fair pain control :2(15.4%) 4. No effect :4(30.8%).

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.224-229
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• 2007

Vertebral compression fractures can occur due to trauma, a malignancy, or most commonly, osteoporosis. These fractures are frequently seen in elderly women; 30% of postmenopausal women are affected by vertebral compression fractures. These fragile fractures frequently result in both acute and chronic pain, but more importantly, are a source of increased morbidity and possibly, mortality. These injuries can be treated both conservatively and with surgery. The use of percutaneous vertebral augmentation offers a minimally invasive approach for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures. We experienced two cases of compression fractures diagnosed during the treatment of thoracic postherpetic neuralgia. Two patients suffering from postherpetic neuralgia with a sharp and stabbing pain in the thoracic dermatomes that was unresponsive to conservative treatment were transferred to our clinic. During the management of postherpetic neuralgia, we incidentally found thoracic compression fractures after obtaining fluoroscopic guided images. After a balloon kyphoplasty, the preoperative pain related to the postherpetic neuralgia was successfully relieved soon after the procedure, and there were no complications.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.93-105
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• 2008

Numerous treatment modalities for acute or subacute herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia have been introduced. Therefore, we updated the treatment modalities by conducting a wide review of the medical literature and we created a new treatment algorithm for herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.335-337
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• 1998

This is a case report of a 69 years old non-smoking male patient with a lung cancer who presented with postherpetic neuralgia on the left T2, 3 and 4 dermatomes. This pain was aggravated in supine position. The patient did not have any other symtoms or signs to suggest the possibility of a lung cancer. Patient's baseline laboratory findings were essentially normal. Routine chest X-ray revealed hazy densities in the left apex. Further evaluation with chest CT confirmed the presence of a lung cancer corresponding to the densities seen on the chest X-ray.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.249-253
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• 1994

Postherpetic neuralgia is one of the most troublesome disease in pain clinic. Nine patients who suffered from postherpetic neuralgia for 1.5 to 8 month, has been treated with the epidural block for prognostic or therapeutic purpose. Epidural catheter was inserted as close to the involved neural roots as possible, and tip of epidural catheter was confirmed under fluroscopic guide. Epidural neurolysis was performed out intermittent injection of 1~3 ml of 6% phenol in saline and repeated 2~6 times over one or 7 days interval. Two patients reported satisfactory pain relief and 3 patients reported some pain relief. But 4 patients unchanged after phenol block. The overall duration of pain relief was not studied. Validity and safety of epidural phenol block was not confined. Further study will be necessary before application of epidural phenol block to postherpetic neuralgia.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.108-111
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• 2011

Herpes zoster as a result of reactivated varicella-zoster virus is characterized by vesicular eruptions on skin and painful neuralgia in the dermatome distribution. Pain during an acute phase of herpes zoster has been associated with a higher risk of developing postherpetic neuralgia. The current therapies for herpes zoster including analgesics and sympathetic nerve block as well as antiviral agents are important to alleviate pain and prevent postherpetic neuralgia. However, in some cases, the pain does not respond well to these treatments. We had a case in which a patient with herpes zoster did not respond to conventional therapy so we attempted to administer intravenous infusion of vitamin C which resulted in an immediate reduction in the pain.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.980-988
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• 2022

The most common definition of postherpetic neuralgia is the presence of pain more than a month after the onset of the eruption of zoster. This case report suggests the effect of Korean medicine on postherpetic neuralgia. An 85-year-old male patient with postherpetic neuralgia was treated with a combination of Korean medical remedies. Kyung Hee Gongjin-dan and Hyangbujapalmul-tang-gagam were applied for 23 days. The Numerical Rating Scale was used to measure pain intensity. The Barthel Index and Beck Depression Inventory were used for the functional assessment and depression evaluation, respectively. After treatment, the patient's pain intensity decreased. Additionally, the patient's independence increased during activity, and the severity of their depression decreased. Thus, this case suggests that a combination of Korean medicine treatments might be effective for postherpetic neuralgia. In particular, it shows that Kyung Hee Gongjin-dan and Hyangbujapalmul-tang-gagam can be therapeutic options in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.135-138
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• 1995

We experienced two cases of malignancy diagnosed during the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. One case was a lung cancer and the other case was a pancreatic cancer. Generally, herpes zoster frequently occurred in the patients who have immunosupressive disease, diabetes mellitus, malignancy and tuberculosis, etc. It is necessary to rule out malignancy in the patients who have herpes zoster, especially those patients whth severe eruptive cluster, persisting to the therapy or multifocal pain. So, we must carefully observe and follow up the patients to find out malignancy as well as to diminish the pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.98-101
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• 2013

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a debilitating complication of herpes zoster, especially in elderly and comorbid patients. Unfortunately, the currently available treatments have shown limited efficacy and some adverse events that are poorly tolerated in elderly patients. Scrambler Therapy, proposed as an alternative treatment for chronic neuropathic pain recently, is a noninvasive approach to relieve pain by changing pain perception at the brain level. Here, we report our clinical experiences on the effect of Scrambler Therapy for three patients with PHN refractory to conventional treatment.