• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.256-263
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• 2024

Background: Cervical epidural block (CEB) is an effective intervention for managing cervical radicular pain. This study aimed to investigate the current status of performing CEB in South Korea. Methods: Pain physicians affiliated with the Korean Pain Society were asked to complete anonymous questionnaires regarding CEB between September and October 2022. The questionnaire consisted of 24 questions assessing the current status and methods of CEB in detail. Results: Of the 198 surveys collected, 171 physicians (86.4%) reported performing CEB. Among those, the majority (94.7%) used fluoroscopy during the procedure. The paramedian interlaminar (IL) approach was the most preferred method (50.3%). Respondents performing fluoroscopic-guided IL CEB were categorized into two groups based on clinical experience: those with ≤10 years of experience (≤10-year group, n = 91) and those with >10 years of experience (>10-year group, n = 71). The proportion of physicians obtaining informed consent in the ≤10-year group and >10-year group was 50.5% and 56.3%, respectively. When entering the epidural space during IL CEB, the contralateral oblique view was the second most frequently used in both groups (≤10-year group, 42.9%; >10-year group, 29.6%). In targeting the upper cervical lesions (C3-4), the proportion of respondents who used an IL space higher than C6-7 was 17.6% in the ≤10-year group and 29.5% in the >10-year experience group. Conclusions: This study demonstrated variability in the CEB technique used by pain physicians in South Korea. The findings highlight the need for education on informed consent and techniques to enhance safety.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제42권5호
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• pp.367-370
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• 2007

Objective : There are numerous reports on the primary stabilizing effects of the different cervical cages for cervical radiculopathy. But, little is known about the subsidence which may be clinical problem postoperatively. The goal of this study is to evaluate subsidence of cage and investigate the correlation between radiologic subsidence and clinical outcome. Methods : To assess possible subsidence, the authors investigated clinical and radiological results of the one-hundred patients who underwent anterior cervical fusion by using $AMSLU^{TM}$ cage during the period between January 2003 and June 2005. Preoperative and postoperative lateral radiographs were measured for height of intervertebral disc space where cages were placed intervertebral disc space was measured by dividing the sum of anterior, posterior, and midpoint interbody distance by 3. Follow-up time was 6 to 12 months. Subsidence was defined as any change in at least one of our parameters of at least 3 mm. Results : Subsidence was found in 22 patients (22%). The mean value of subsidence was 2.21 mm, and mean subsidence rate was 22%. There were no cases of the clinical status deterioration during the follow-up period No posterior or anterior migration was observed. Conclusion : The phenomenon of subsidence is seen in substantial number of patients. Nevertheless, clinical and radiological results of the surgery were favorable. An excessive subsidence may result in hardware failure. Endplate preservation may enables us to control subsidence and reduce the number of complications.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.32-40
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• 2021

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Korean medicine combination treatment on recurrent neck pain after medical procedures. Methods: This retrospective study included 158 inpatients of the Daejeon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine who were diagnosed with "Cervical disc disorder with radiculopathy (M50.1)" between December 14th, 2017 and May 29th, 2019. The patients were assigned to 1 of 2 groups based on whether they received medical procedures on the cervical spine at least once. Korean medicine combination treatment was evaluated using EuroQol-5 dimensions index (EQ-5D), numeric rating scale (NRS), and neck disability index (NDI) scores. Results: Before and after treatment, the patients who received medical procedures on the cervical spine at least once before admission (Group A) showed a statistically significant difference in the NDI and NRS scores but not in the EQ-5D scores. This was similar to the patients who had not received medical procedures on the cervical spine before admission (Group B) they showed a statistically significant difference in the NDI and NRS scores but not in the EQ-5D scores. When comparing the results of Group A and Group B before and after treatment, no statistically significant differences were observed in the EQ-5D, NDI, and NRS scores. Conclusion: Korean medicine combination treatment improves the neck functional disability of patients who suffer from recurrent neck pain despite patients having undergone medical procedures.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.109-114
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• 2019

Background: Transforaminal epidural block (TFEB) is an effective treatment option for radicular pain. To reduce complications from intravascular injection during TFEB, use of imaging modalities such as real-time fluoroscopy (RTF) or digital subtraction angiography (DSA) has been recommended. In this study, we investigated whether DSA improved the detection of intravascular injection during TFEB at the whole spine level compared to RTF. Methods: We prospectively examined 316 patients who underwent TFEB. After confirmation of final needle position using biplanar fluoroscopy, 2 mL of nonionic contrast medium was injected at a rate of 0.5 mL/s under RTF; 30 s later, 2 mL of nonionic contrast medium was injected at a rate of 0.5 mL/s under DSA. Results: Thirty-six intravascular injections were detected for an overall rate of 11.4% using RTF, with 45 detected for a rate of 14.2% using DSA. The detection rate using DSA was statistically different from that using RTF (p=0.004). DSA detected a significantly higher proportion of intravascular injections at the cervical level than at the thoracic (p=0.009) and lumbar (p=0.011) levels. Conclusion: During TFEB at the whole spine level, DSA was better than RTF for the detection of intravascular injection. Special attention is advised for cervical TFEB, because of a significantly higher intravascular injection rate at this level than at other levels.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.311-316
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• 2007

Objective : The objective of this study is to investigate the safety, surgical efficacy, and advantages of a polyaxial screw-rod system for posterior occipitocervicothoracic arthrodesis. Methods : Charts and radiographs of 32 patients who underwent posterior cervical fixation between October 2004 and February 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. Posterior cervical polyaxial screw-rod fixation was applied on the cervical spine and/or upper thoracic spine. The surgical indication was fracture or dislocation in 18, C1-2 ligamentous injury with trauma in 5, atlantoaxial instability by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in 4, cervical spondylosis with myelopathy in 4, and spinal metastatic tumor in 1. The patients were followed up and evaluated based on their clinical status and radiographs at 1, 3, 6 months and 1 year after surgery. Results : A total of 189 screws were implanted in 32 patients. Fixation was carried out over an average of 3.3 spinal segment (range, 2 to 7). The mean follow-up interval was 20.2 months. This system allowed for screw placement in the occiput, C1 lateral mass, C2 pars, C3-7 lateral masses, as well as the lower cervical and upper thoracic pedicles. Satisfactory bony fusion and reduction were achieved and confirmed in postoperative flexion-extension lateral radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans in all cases. Revision surgery was required in two cases due to deep wound infection. One case needed a skin graft due to necrotic change. There was one case of kyphotic change due to adjacent segmental degeneration. There were no other complications, such as cord or vertebral artery injury, cerebrospinal fluid leak, screw malposition or back-out, or implant failure, and there were no cases of postoperative radiculopathy due to foraminal stenosis. Conclusion : Posterior cervical stabilization with a polyaxial screw-rod system is a safe and reliable technique that appears to offer several advantages over existing methods. Further biomechanical testings and clinical experiences are needed in order to determine the true benefits of this procedure.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제16권1호통권29호
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• pp.132-140
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• 1995

Object : This study is designed to evaluate the correlation between the data of DITI(Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging)examination and the changes of clinical symptom after the therapy of acupuncture in the patients with herniated cervical intervertebral disc. Content : The conservative therapy with acupuncture was performed during $4{\sim}5$ weeks, The acupuncture points of SI3, B62, TE3, G34, LI4, S36, GV26, G21, SII5 were used. In the pre- and post therapy, DITI examinations were performed in patients who had HIVD and were treated by acupuncture simultaneously, and then tried to correlate the results of clinical symptoms with the difference of thermographic findings at pre-acupuncture and post-acupuncture. Setting : The standard routine thermoghaphic examinations were performed with thermography(DITI) in the 15 patients with lumbar disc herniations at pre- and post acupuncture. Patient : Thermographic imaging of 15 cases were analyzed. They has disc herniations in X-ray, CT scan and MRI and they were treated by acupuncture theraphy in our hospital from March, 1994 to January, 1995. Result : 1) The causes were trauma(60%), retention of phlegm and fluid(8.7%) and cold & moisture(33.3%) 2) Levels of herniated cervical disc are C2/3(1 case). C3/4(2 cases), C5/6 & C6/7 (2 cases), C6/7(4 cases), Normal(6 cases). 3) Classifications of thermographic pattern are radiculopathy(80%), spot(13.3%), and nonspecific(6.7%) in order. 4) In evaluation Results of clinical symptom are Excellent(80%), Good(6.7%), and Poor(6.7%). Data of DITI are Excellent(80%), Good(6.7%), Fair(6.7%), and Poor(6.7%). Conclusion ; Acupuncture showed good results over 86.7% in clinical evaluation and 86.7% in DITI. Thermographic examination was valuable in the evaluation of therapeutic effect of acupuncture treatment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.102-106
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• 2005

Objective : The purposes of this study are to evaluate the efficacy of en bloc open-door laminoplasty and to investigate the validity of various factors as prognotic indicators in patients with multisegmental spondylotic myelopathy and ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament[OPLL]. Methods : The authors reviewed 43 cases in whom laminoplasty were performed for cervical myelopathy between January 2000 and December 2002. Clinical symptoms and results were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association[JOA] scale. The recovery rate was calculated and then assessed for prognostic factors such as preoperative JOA scores, ages, history of previous trauma, duration of symptoms and signal change in cord on T2-weighted magnetic resonance Image. Results : In cervical stenosis, canal widening of antero-posterior diameter and dimension after laminoplasty is 4.16mm, $87.43mm^2$ and in OPLL is 6.20mm, $117.61mm^2$. In all cases there wasn't neurologic deterioration, mild postoperative complications developed in seven cases. Four patient had a limitation of range of neck motion and the other one showed kyphotic change and another two showed C5 radiculopathy. The recovery rate of JOA score in cervical stenosis and OPLL was 62% and 68% respectively. Duration of symptoms, the severity[preoperative JOA score], and signal change in cord on T2-weighted magnetic resonance image had close relationship to the clinical outcomes. Conclusion : Unilateral en bloc laminoplasty is simultaneous expansile and decompressive method. And preoperative JOA score, symptom duration and high signal intensity on T2-weighted magnetic resonance image can be used to predict prognosis.

• Clinical Pain
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.116-119
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• 2020

Cervical transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is commonly performed to provide relief of pain caused by radiculopathy. Intra-arterial injection of particulate steroid or direct needle injury can lead to spinal artery embolism or thrombosis. Also there is a possibility of vascular spasm. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of spinal cord infarction that occurred after TFESI with non-particulate steroid in Korea. A 47-year-old female patient underwent C7 TFESI at local pain clinic. Injected materials were dexamethasone and mepivacaine. Right after the intervention, she felt muscle weakness and decreased sensation. On physical examination, she had decreased sensation from C4 to T2 dermatome in light touch and pin-prick test. Proprioception and vibration were intact. The motor grades of upper extremities were grade 1. Cervical and thoracic spine MRI was checked. Diffusion-weighted image and apparent diffusion coefficient image showed long extension of spinal cord infarction from C2 to T1 level.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.342-348
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• 2019

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) can be defined as an ectopic ossification in the tissues of spinal ligament showing a hyperostotic condition. OPLL is developed mostly in the cervical spine and clinical presentations of OPLL are majorly myelopathy and/or radiculopathy, with serious neurological pathology resulting in paralysis of extremities and disturbances of motility lowering the quality of life. OPLL is known to be an idiopathic and multifactorial disease, which genetic factors and non-genetic factors including diet, obesity, physical strain on the posterior longitudinal ligament, age, and diabetes mellitus, are involved into the pathogenesis. Up to now, surgical management by decompressing the spinal cord is regarded as standard treatment for OPLL, although there might be the risk of development of reprogression of ossification. The molecular pathogenesis and efficient therapeutic strategy, especially pharmacotherapy and/or preventive intervention, of OPLL has not been clearly elucidated and suggested. Therefore, in this review, we tried to give an overview to the present research results on OPLL, in order to shed light on the potential pharmacotherapy based on molecular pathophysiologic aspect of OPLL, especially on the genetic/genomic factors involved into the etiology of OPLL.

• 대한정형외과학회지
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• 제55권1호
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• pp.78-84
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• 2020

목적: 초음파 유도하 경추 신경근 차단술을 시행한 환자들의 임상결과를 방사선 유도하 경추 신경근 차단술을 시행한 환자들과 비교하고 합병증 및 수술 비율 등에 대해 비교하고자 하였다. 대상 및 방법: 경추 추간판 탈출증으로 진단된 환자들에 대해 2015년 5월 1일부터 2018년 2월 8일까지 초음파 유도하 경추 신경근 차단술을 시행한 97예와 2010년 6월 1일부터 2017년 8월17일까지 방사선 유도하에 시행한 94예 환자들의 경추통과 방사통을 시술 전과, 3주, 6주 후 verbal numeric rating scale (VNRS)을 이용하여 조사하였고 시술과 연관된 합병증 유무도 의무기록을 통해 조사하였다. 결과: 초음파 유도하 경추 신경근 차단술을 시행한 97예 중 66예가 연구에 포함되었고 이들의 평균 연령은 57세였다. 남성이 41명 여성이 25명이었고 목표 신경근은 경추 5번이 8예, 6번이 37예, 7번이 21예였다. 방사선 유도하 경추 신경근 차단술을 시행한 94예 중 77예가 연구에 포함되었고 이들의 평균 연령은 55세였다. 남성이 40명, 여성이 37명이었고 목표 신경근은 5번이 6예, 6번이 42예, 7번이 26예, 8번이 3예였다. 시술 후 경추통의 numeric rating pain scale은 초음파 유도하의 경우 중간값 5.4점에서 3주, 6주에 2.7점, 1.4점으로 감소하였고(p=0.0023, p<0.001), 방사선 유도하의 경우 시술 전 중간값 6.2점에서 3주에 3.1점, 6주에 1.5점이었다(p<0.001, p<0.001). 방사통의 경우 초음파 유도하 차단술의 경우 시술 전 중간값 6.3점에서 3주에 2.8점, 6주에 1.5점으로 호전되었고(p<0.001,p<0.001), 방사선 유도하의 경우 시술 전 7.4점, 3주, 6주에 3.3점, 1.9점으로 감소하였다(p<0.001, p<0.001). 합병증의 경우 방사선 유도하 차단술의 경우 호너 증후군이 1예, 간대성 근경련이 1예였으며 초음파 유도하차단술의 경우 일시적인 수부 부종을 호소하는 1예가 있었다. 결론: 초음파 유도하 경추 신경근 차단술을 시행한 환자들의 임상결과는 방사선 유도하 경추 신경근 차단술을 시행한 환자들과 통계적 차이를 보이지 않았다.