• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.227-230
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• 1999

The sphenopalatine ganglion lies behind the middle nasal concha in the sphenopalatine foramen which connects the fossa to the nasal cavity. It has sympathetic and parasympathetic fibers as well as sensory fibers which innervate the nasal cavity, palate and nasopharynx. Current indications for blockade of the sphenopalatine ganglion include the management of migraine, cluster headache and a variety of facial neuralgias. Blockage of this ganglion can be attempted when more conservative treatments have failed. If the pain relief gained through the procedure is of short duration and the blockage needs to be repeated frequently, then radiofrequency thermocoagulation should be considered. Since the sphenopalatine ganglion lies close to the maxillary nerve, neurolytics can cause facial dysesthesia, radiofrequency thermocoagulation is the preferred method for ganglionotomy. Radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion was done for 3 patients who suffered from postherpetic neuralgia, cluster headache, atypical facial pain respectively. Good results were obtained with the exception of the patient suffering from atypical facial pain. Although we were concerned about complications such as epistaxis, none were encountered. However it should be noted that caution must be exercised when repeatedly redirecting the cannula in the sphenopalatine fossa as serious bleeding and pronounced facial swelling may result.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.34-39
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• 1990

Fifty-one cases of acute herpes zoster infection were analyzed to search for the most effective management strategy of the disease, including pain relief and decreasing the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia. Anti-viral treatment was not included. Analgesics and nerve blocks, such as stellate ganglion block or epidural block, were helpful. Corticosteroid was administered in most of the cases either systemically or epidurally or both. Epidural administration of local anesthetic in combination with corticosteroid seemed to have certain advantages of excellent pain relief as a result of sympathetic blockade and regional plus systemic anti-inflammatory effects of the steroid, although this was not proved by definite statistical evidence.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 2021

Herpes zoster is caused by reactivation and multiplication of a latent varicella-zoster virus infection. Reactivation can frequently occur in older adults and immunosuppressed individuals. It is hypothesized that this is related to an aging society and a corresponding increase in the number of people with underlying chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, that lower immunity. Clinically, the patient complains of pain, and a vesicular rash presents on one side of the face up to the midline in the dermatomes associated with the affected ganglion. Herpes zoster of the oral mucosa is rare. When oral lesions do occur, they are most often concurrent with pathognomonic unilateral linear vesicular skin lesions, facilitating both clinical diagnosis and management of the condition. Cases limited to the oral mucous membrane alone are most unusual. Treatment includes antiviral agents and analgesics for pain control. Antivirals should be administered within 72 hours of onset. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to avoid complications, such as postherpetic neuralgia. The present case report describes the adequate management of a patient diagnosed with shingles which affected the right side of the face and oral cavity. In addition, a literature review is presented.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.201-209
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• 1998

Background: Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) have been used for various pain syndromes for their analgesic effects. They, however, often have anticholinergic side effects and therefore search for more selective drugs with fewer side effects is justified. Paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor devoid of autonomic side effects, was evaluated for its role as an analgesic adjuvant in the management of neuropathic pain. Method: According to individual diagnostic group as diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, central pain syndrome and cancer related plexopathy, 10 patients per each group were equally accumulated. Patients have been stabilized in their analgesic regimen at least four weeks prior to enrollment into study. TCA, if taken, was discontinued for two weeks for wash out period. Baseline four point verbal pain intensity score was obtained and oral administration of paroxetine 20 mg was initiated. At two weeks follow-up visit, pain intensity scores, pain improvement scores judged by family, drug efficacy, tolerability and overall evaluation were assessed. The incidence of side effects were also obtained. Result: After two weeks of treatment, pain intensity scores decreased in 77.5% of patients and no patients experienced aggravation. These findings were objectively reflected in pain improvement scores judged by family members. But, the number of nonresponders was different among groups. In drug efficacy, tolerability and overall evaluation, the proportions of patients who scored as excellent or good were 75%, 80% and 80% respectively. Incidence of side effects was 27.5%, but the side effects spontaneously disappeared after discontinuation of medication. Conclusion: Paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, appears to be effective as adjuvant analgesic for the management of various neuropathic pain syndromes.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.47-56
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• 2024

Background: Among the various pain-related diseases that can be encountered at the clinic, there is a neuropathic pain that is difficult to treat. Numerous methods have been proposed to treat neuropathic pain, such as taking medication, nerve block with lidocaine, or neurolysis with alcohol or phenol. Recently, a method of perineural injection using dextrose instead of lidocaine was proposed. This study was designed to compare the effects of perineural injection therapy (PIT) with buffered 5% dextrose or 0.5% lidocaine on neuropathic pain. Methods: The data were collected from the database of pain clinic from August 1st, 2019 to December 31st, 2022 without any personal information. The inclusion criteria were patients diagnosed with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), trigeminal neuralgia (TN), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), or peripheral neuropathy (PN), and patients who had undergone PIT with buffered 5% dextrose (Dextrose group) or 0.5% lidocaine (Lidocaine group) for pain control. The data of patients, namely sex, age, and pain score (numerical rating scale, NRS) were collected before PIT. The data of NRS, side effects, and satisfaction grade (excellent, good, fair, or poor) were collected one week after each of the four PIT, and two weeks after the last PIT. Results: Overall, 112 subjects were enrolled. The Dextrose group included 89 and Lidocaine group included 23 patients. Because the number of patients in the Lidocaine group was too small to allow statistical analysis, the trend in Lidocaine group was just observed in each disease. There were no significant side effects except for a few bruise cases on the site of injection in all groups. The NRS in most Dextrose groups except CRPS were reduced significantly; however, the Lidocaine group showed a trend of pain reduction only in PHN. The Dextrose group except CRPS showed increased satisfaction two weeks after the final PIT. Conclusion: From the results, it is suggested that PIT with buffered 5% dextrose may have a good effect for neuropathic pain without any side effect except for patients with CRPS. This may offer a window into a new tool that practitioners can employ in their quest to help patients with neuropathic pain.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.158-163
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• 2012

Lidocaine has been studied for many chronic pain conditions, including postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and recently it has also been increasingly used in transdermal drug delivery systems. In this study, pharmacokinetics of a lidocaine patch was studied in four hairless male rats. The plasma concentration was determined by a validated LC/MS/MS method after applying a $3{\times}2cm^2$ (30mg) patch for 12 hours. From the plasma lidocaine concentration vs time curves, $AUC_{0-20h}$, Cmax, and Tmax of lidocaine patch were $2,926.32{\pm}335.28ng{\cdot}h/ml$, $256.86{\pm}29.63ng/ml$, and $6.00{\pm}2.31h$, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2014

Herpes zoster (HZ) is an acute, unilateral inflammatory viral infection characterized by a rash with painful blisters in a localized area of the body. HZ is often associated with intense pain in the acute phase and presents postherpetic neuralgia in the chronic phase. During the prodromal stage of the HZ from the trigeminal nerve, however, the only presenting symptom may be odontalgia, which could be particularly difficult to diagnose. This distinctive syndrome occurs predominantly in the immunocompromised or elderly individuals. In this article, we report a case of HZ developed in the trigeminal nerve of a 60-year-old immunocompromised female patient, whose symptoms including atypical, non-odontogenic odontalgia had improved after series of antiviral treatments.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.sup1
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• pp.85-90
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• 2001

Objective : DREZotomy is effective for the treatment of deafferentation pain as a consequence of root avulsion, postparaplegic pain, posttraumatic syrinx, postherpetic neuralgia, spinal cord injury, and peripheral nerve injury. We performed microsurgical DREZotomy to the patients with deafferentation pain and relieved pain without any serious complication. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the microsurgical DREZotomy for deafferentation pain. Methods : We evaluated 4 patients with deafferntation pain who were intractable to medical therapy. Two of them were brachial plexus injury with root avulsion owing to trauma, one was axillary metastasis of the squamous cell carcinoma of the left forearm, and the last was anesthesia dolorosa after surgical treatment(MVD and rhizotomy) of trigeminal neuralgia. Preoperative evaluation was based on the neurologic examination, radiologic imaging, and electrophysiological study. In the case of anesthesia dolorosa, we produced two parallel lesions in cephalocaudal direction, 2mm in distance, from the C2 dorsal rootlet to the 5mm superior to the obex including nucleus caudalis, after suboccipital craniectomy and C1-2 laminectomy, with use of microelectrode. In the others, we confirmed lesion site with identification of the nerve root after hemilaminectomy. We performed arachnoid dissection along the posterolateral sulcus and made lesion with microsurgical knife and microelectrocoagulation, 2mm in depth, 2mm in distance, to the direction of 30-45 degrees in the medial portion of the Lissauer's tract and the most dorsal layers of the posterior horn at the one root level above and below the lesion. Results : Compared with preoperative state, microsurgical DREZotomy significantly diminished dosage of the drugs and relieved pain meaningfully. One patient showed tansient ipsilateral ataxia, but recovered soon. There was not any serious complication. Conclusion : It may be concluded that microsurgical DREZotomy is very useful and safe therapeutic modality for deafferentation pain, especially segmentally distributed intermittent or evoke pain. Complete preoperative evaluation and proper selection of the patients and lesion making device are needed to improve the result.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.199-206
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• 2001

Background: The lumbar sympathetic ganglia are variable in both position and numbers. The aim of this study was to detect the appropriate lumbar vertebral level where the lumbar sympathetic ganglia primarily aggregate. Methods: Forty patients comprising of hyperhidrosis (26 cases), complex regional pain syndrome (10 cases), peripheral artery occlusion disease (3 cases) and postherpetic neuralgia (1 case) underwent lumbar sympathetic block. We randomly selected one of two (L2 or L3) levels and the L4 level. The position of the needle tip and distribution of dye was verified by injection of a mixture of radio-opaque dye (1.5 ml) and 4% lidocaine (1.5 ml) and subsequently confirmed by L-spine anteroposterior and a lateral view X-ray. We considered the response positive when the skin temperature increased more than $1^{\circ}C$ in 5 min. Results: In general, the positive response ratio was greater when the needle tip located at the L2 or L4 level vice L3 and when the drug was distributed on the lower half of the L4 body and in the L4/5 intervertebral disc space. In a right side block, the positive response ratio was greater when the drug was distributed on the lower half of the L4 body and in the L4/5 intervertebral disc space, although in a left side block there was no significant difference seen between the levels. The complications of the neurolytic block were alcohol neuritis (7.5%) and hypoesthesia (5%) on the L1 or L2 dermatome. Conclusions: The best effect with least chance of complication may be induced by spreading the drug on the lower half of the L4 body and/or into the L4/5 intervertebral disc space by placing the needle tip on the L4 body.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.268-272
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• 2007

Herpes zoster is caused when the varicella zoster virus(VZV) that has remained latent since an earlier varicella infection is reactivated with cutaneous and mucous manifestations. They occur in 20% cases in the trigeminal area and typical manifestations are neuralgias simulating dental pain, also vesicles with an erythematous halo located in the territory of the second and third trigemial branch. They erupt on the skin, the lips, tongue, palate and cheeks. With an ever-increasing number of elderly and immunocompromised patients attending the dentist, the dental profession can expect to encounter an increased number of herpes zoster patients. Furthermore, the oral and maxillofacial surgeons must be familiar with the presenting signs and symptoms of patients experiencing the prodromal manifestations and oral complication of herpes zoster of the trigeminal nerve. As presentation of our patient with ulcer on hard palate caused by herpes zoster, current treatment of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia are discussed.