Attitudes and Practices of Lumbar Puncture among Students, Interns, and Residents of the Pediatric Department of the Mohammed VI University Hospital Center of Oujda, Morocco

Introduction: Even though lumbar puncture (LP) represents an important tool in the diagnosis of certain neurological diseases, this procedure is little practiced by our students. We aimed to evaluate the attitudes and practices of students, interns, and residents about LP, and to assess their feelings about how this procedure is taught. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 160 participants, using an anonymous questionnaire, to evaluate the attitudes and practices of students, interns and residents in the pediatrics department concerning lumbar puncture. Results: Half of the participants had never performed LP, usually because of the risk involved or lack of confidence, while 20% had performed it more than 4 times. None of the participants had learned to perform the procedure through simulation sessions, while (42%) had learned it under the supervision of a senior physician and had not been able to perform it successfully the first time. Most participants inform the patient about the procedure before performing it. Only 44% of participants acknowledged that LP can be performed under local anesthetic. The sitting position (60%) was by far the most commonly used. Most LPs were performed for diagnostic purposes. Most participants stated that the pediatric ward and the pediatric emergency department are among the departments that perform LP most frequently, and that they would be interested in taking part in simulated lumbar puncture sessions in children in the future. Conclusion: The results of our study show that LP is perceived by students as a risky procedure that is difficult to perform. Teachers should reconsider how this technical procedure is taught, by integrating simulation on mannequins into student training.

Meta-Analysis of Efficacy and Safety of Mongolian Medical Warm Acupuncture in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation

Objective:To systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of Mongolian medical warm acupuncture in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation(LDH).Methods:CNKI,Wanfang,VIP,Pubmed,Embase,Cochrane Library,and other databases were searched.The randomized controlled trials(RCTs)on the treatment of LDH with Mongolian medical warm acupuncture were manually searched in the Chinese Journal of Ethnic Medicine,Chinese Journal of Mongolian Medicine,Journal of Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities,and Journal of Inner Mongolia Medical University.The search time limit was from January 2000 to October 2023.RevMan5.4 software was used to analyze the included and excluded literature.Results:A total of 8 RCTs involving 1,042 patients with LDH were included,with 551 patients in the observation group and 491 patients in the control group.The results of the meta-analysis showed that a total of 8 randomized controlled trials were included in the treatment of LDH with Mongolian medical warm acupuncture compared with simple acupuncture(RR=1.18,95%CI=[1.12,1.23],P<0.00001).Conclusion:The total effective rate of Mongolian medical warm acupuncture for LDH is higher than that of simple acupuncture.However,due to the low quality of the literature included in this study,multi-dimensional,large sample size,and more rigorous clinical randomized trials are needed for further verification in the future.

Cauda equina syndrome with urinary retention as a postoperative complication of lumbar spine surgery:A case report

BACKGROUND Cauda equina syndrome(CES)is characterized by a group of symptoms that may be caused by inflammation,spinal cord compression,venous congestion,or ischemia.This syndrome is commonly an indication for surgical intervention but has not been determined as a postoperative complication following surgery for lumbar spine disease.CASE SUMMARY To report the case of a 54-year-old male patient who had CES following spinal surgery,with no obvious compression lesions found during re-exploration,suggesting that vascular insufficiency may have contributed to the condition.Furthermore,a series of urodynamic studies on bladder recovery patterns in such complications have also been investigated.CONCLUSION Postoperative CES requires urgent imaging and exploration to rule out compression;noncompressive cases,including vascular insufficiency may performed conservative management.

Semantic Segmentation of Lumbar Vertebrae Using Meijering U-Net(MU-Net)on Spine Magnetic Resonance Images

Lower back pain is one of the most common medical problems in the world and it is experienced by a huge percentage of people everywhere.Due to its ability to produce a detailed view of the soft tissues,including the spinal cord,nerves,intervertebral discs,and vertebrae,Magnetic Resonance Imaging is thought to be the most effective method for imaging the spine.The semantic segmentation of vertebrae plays a major role in the diagnostic process of lumbar diseases.It is difficult to semantically partition the vertebrae in Magnetic Resonance Images from the surrounding variety of tissues,including muscles,ligaments,and intervertebral discs.U-Net is a powerful deep-learning architecture to handle the challenges of medical image analysis tasks and achieves high segmentation accuracy.This work proposes a modified U-Net architecture namely MU-Net,consisting of the Meijering convolutional layer that incorporates the Meijering filter to perform the semantic segmentation of lumbar vertebrae L1 to L5 and sacral vertebra S1.Pseudo-colour mask images were generated and used as ground truth for training the model.The work has been carried out on 1312 images expanded from T1-weighted mid-sagittal MRI images of 515 patients in the Lumbar Spine MRI Dataset publicly available from Mendeley Data.The proposed MU-Net model for the semantic segmentation of the lumbar vertebrae gives better performance with 98.79%of pixel accuracy(PA),98.66%of dice similarity coefficient(DSC),97.36%of Jaccard coefficient,and 92.55%mean Intersection over Union(mean IoU)metrics using the mentioned dataset.

EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE ON POST-OPERATIVE FUNCTIONAL RECOV-ERY IN PATIENTS WITH LUMBAR INTERVERTEBRAL DISC PROTRUSION

Objective To observe the influence of acupuncture on the post-operative rehabilitation in patients undergoing vertebral pulp extraction due to lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion （LIDP） so as to evaluate its efficacy in the treatment of lumbago induced by LIDP. Methods A total of 69 patients undergoing vertebral pulp extraction were randomized into acupuncture group （ n = 35） and control group （ n = 34）. Patients of acupuncture group were treated with routine rehabilitation method and electroacupuncture （EA） stimulation on Zhìbiān （秩边 BL54） and Wěizhōng （委中 BL40）, acupuncture on Shènshū （ 肾俞 BL23）, Dàchángshū （大肠俞 BL25）, BL54, BL40, Jiájǐ （夹脊 EX-B 2）, Shàngliáo （上髎 BL31）, etc., and cupping on BL40, with 15 days being a therapeutic course and for average 7. 36 courses. Patients of control group were treated with simple rehabilitation method. Functional recovery state was judged before and after surgery by using the standards of Japanese Orthopedic Association （JOA）. Results The average recovery rates of 3 months, 6 months and one year after surgery were 49.93% ,90.31% and 95.08% separately in acupuncture group, and 26.24% ,63.42% and 71.36% successively in control group. The recovery rates of acupuncture group were significantly higher than those of control group at the same time-points （P〈0. 05）. Conclusion Acupuncture has a definite effect on promoting post-operative functional recovery in LIDP patients undergoing vertebral pulp extraction and spinal fusion.

Serial lumbar puncture reduces cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) infection during removal of hemorrhagic CSF in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage after endovascular coiling

The present study aimed to compare the complications and clinical outcomes of serial lumbar puncture（LP） and lumbar cerebrospinal fluid（CSF） drainage（LD） of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and provide more evidence to guide clinical management.In this retrospective study,41 and 39 aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients were enrolled in the LP and LD group,respectively.Clinical outcomes,including CSF infection,intracerebral hemorrhage,vasospasm,hydrocephalus,death,length of stay,duration of drainage and the Glasgow Outcome Scale score were compared between the two groups.By comparing with the LP group,the LD group showed a significantly higher rate of CSF infection（P= 0.029） and shorter duration of drainage（P〈 0.001）.Both groups displayed similar rates of vasospasm,hydrocephalus,intracerebral hemorrhage,the Glasgow Outcome Scale score one month after endovascular coiling and length of stay（P〉 0.05,respectively）.In conclusion,both LD and serial LP are effective methods in the treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage; besides,serial LP can reduce the incidence of CSF infection in draining hemorrhagic CSF in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage after endovascular coiling.

Prospective evaluation of point-of-care ultrasound for pre-procedure identification of landmarks versus traditional palpation for lumbar puncture

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to determine if point-of-care ultrasound(POCUS) pre-procedure identification of landmarks can decrease failure rate, reduce procedural time, and decrease the number of needle redirections and reinsertions when performing a lumbar puncture(LP).METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing POCUS preprocedure identifi cation of landmarks versus traditional palpation for LP in a cohort of patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit.RESULTS: A total of 158 patients were enrolled. No signifi cant difference was found in time to completion, needle re-direction, or needle re-insertion when using POCUS when compared to the traditional method of palpation.CONCLUSION: Consistent with fi ndings of previous studies, our data indicate that there was no observed benefi t of using POCUS to identify pre-procedure landmarks when performing an LP.

Acupuncture at the “Huatuojiaji” point affects nerve root regional interleukin-1 level in a rat model of lumbar nerve root compression

BACKGROUND：It has been shown that interleukin-1 （IL-1） may cause inflammatory reactions, which stimulate the nerve root of patients with lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion and leads to pain. Whether the clinical curative effects of acupuncture in the treatment of lumbar and leg pain are linked to an inhibition of local IL-1 secretion is unknown. OBJECTIVE： To assess the influence of acupuncture on IL-1, this study was designed to verify the effects of acupuncture at the ＂Huatuojiaji （Extra）＂ point on the nerve root in a rat model of lumbar nerve root compression, compared with administration of meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： Randomized, controlled, molecular biology experiment, performed at the Experimental Center, Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University between September 2005 and April 2006. MATERIALS： Forty healthy adult Sprague Dawley rats of either gender were included in this study. The rats were randomly and evenly divided into the following four groups： normal control, model, acupuncture and meloxicam groups. Lumbar nerve root compression was induced in rats in the model, acupuncture, and meloxicam groups by inserting a specially made silicon rubber slice at the juncture of the L5 nerve root and the dural sac. The acupuncture needle （pattern number N3030, 30#, 1.5 inch） was purchased from Suzhou Medical Appliance Factory, China. IL-1 enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） kit was purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., USA. METHODS： The acupuncture group was acupunctured at the ＂Huatuojiaji＂ point, which is lateral to the compressed L5-6 nerve root, with an acupuncture depth of 0.5 cm. There were two treatment courses, each of involved seven 20-minute acupuncture sessions, one session a day. The meloxicam group was administered intragastrically 3.75 mg/kg meloxicam （5 mg meloxicam /10 mL physiological saline）. Rats in the normal control group and model group received an intragastric administration of 10 mL/kg physiological saline. All administrations were performed once a day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： At day 14 post-surgery, the IL-1 level in the compressed nerve root was determined by a streptavidin-peroxidase （S-P） immunohistochemical method, and IL-1β mRNA expression in the compressed nerve root was simultaneously detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS： The expression levels of IL-1 and IL-1β mRNA in the L5 nerve root were significantly higher in the model group than in the control group （P 〈 0.01）. However, the expression levels of IL-1 and IL-1β mRNA were significantly lower in the acupuncture and meloxicam groups than in the model group （P 〈 0.05–0.01）. Expression levels of IL-1 and IL-1β mRNA were significantly higher in the acupuncture group than in the meloxicam group （P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： Acupuncture at the ＂Huatuojiaji＂ point decreases the IL-1 level by inhibiting IL-1β mRNA expression to a greater extent than meloxicam administration.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE PLUS ATOMIZED HERBAL MEDICINE IN THE TREATMENT OF LUMBAR INTERVERTEBRAL DISC PROTRUSION

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with atomized herbal medicine in the treatment of protrusion of lumbar intervertebral disc. Methods A total of 211 patients with lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion were randomized into two groups, with 106 cases being in trealment group and 105 in control group. The treatment was given once everyday, 12 days as one course of treatment. After two courses of treatment, the results were analyzed. Results The curative rate was 97.1% in the treatment group and 81.0% in the control group. Conclusion Acupuncture together with herbal medicine for the protrusion of lumbar intervetebral disc was better in effect than acupuncture only.

Analgesic effects of balanced acupuncture versus body acupuncture in low-back and leg pain patients with lumbar disc herniation, as assessed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging

Balanced acupuncture, a single-acupoint balance therapy, regulates the balance of the cerebral center, and is characterized by exerting quick effects and a short treatment course. A total of 20 low-back and leg pain patients with lumbar disc herniation were treated with balanced acupuncture or body acupuncture. Central mechanisms of vaded acupunctures were compared using resting-state functional MRI. Patients from both groups received functional MRI before and after acupuncture. Functional connectivity in brain regions that were strongly associated with the bilatera amygdala was analyzed utilizing AFNI software. Visual analogue scale scores were greater in the balanced acupuncture group compared with the body acupuncture group. Function of the endogenous pain regulation network was enhanced in patients in the balanced acupuncture group, but was not changed in the body acupuncture group. This result indicates that the analgesic effects of body acupuncture do not work through the central nervous system. These data suggest that balanced acupuncture exerts analgesic effects on low-back and leg pain patients with lumbar disc herniation by regulating the function of the endogenous pain regulation network.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON THE TREATMENT OF LUMBAR VERTEBRA HYPEROSTEOGENY WITH ELECTRO- AND HYDRO-ACUPUNCTURE

In the present study, 121 patients with lumbar vertebra hyperosteogeny were dividedinto following four groups for treatment and comparison: intense electro-acupuncture group (Group1), hydro-acupuncture group (Group 2), electro-acupuncture plus hydro-acupuncture group (Group3) and analgesic liquid for spur group (Group 4). It is indicated that the effect of electro-acupunctureplus hydro-acupuncture is the best in the treatment of lumbar vertebra hyperosteogeny.

Acupuncture and/or moxibustion for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation:quality assessment of systematic reviews

Objective:In the current systematic review on acupuncture and/or moxibustion for lumbar disc herniation(LDH),we evaluated the methodology and quality of evidence and reports to provide necessary information for accurate clinical decision-making regarding acupuncture and/or moxibustion for LDH.Methods:From databases such as CBM(Chinese biomedical literature database),VIP(China science and technology journal database),CNKI(China national knowledge infrastructure),WF(Wanfang database),Web of Science,Embase,Medline,and Cochrane Library,systematic reviews on acupuncture and/or moxibustion for LDH were retrieved,and the methodological quality of the literature was evaluated according to the assessment of multiple systematic reviews(AMSTAR)list.Furthermore,the grading of recommendations assessment,development and evaluation(GRADE)system was used to grade the quality of evidence and the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses(PRISMA)statement to evaluate the quality of the report.Results:A total of 18 systematic reviews were included,and the conclusion is that acupuncture and/or moxibustion have some advantages in terms of efficacy and safety with regard to LDH treatment.According to the AMSTAR score,there were 4 high-quality studies,13 moderate-quality studies,and 1 low-quality study.GRADE showed that quality of evidence such as total effective rate of LDH and VAS was low and that of other forms of evidence was lower.The PRISMA statement showed that 8 articles were in line with 20 or more of the 27 items,and 10 articles were in line with 10-19 of the 27 items.Conclusion:At present,acupuncture and/or moxibustion for LDH has a good curative effect.More importantly,its methodological quality was of moderate level and the report quality was generally good and relatively complete.However,the poor quality of the original research results was reflected in the quality of evidence.More studies are needed to make sure whether acupuncture is more effective than other treatment methods.

Network meta-analysis of five acupuncture treatments for lumbar disc herniation

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of different acupuncture treatments in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.Methods:Searching PubMed,EMBASE,Cochrane Library,web of by computer Science,Chinese Journal Full-text Database,Wanfang database,VIP database and Chinese biomedical literature database,the retrieval time is from the establishment of the database to January 1,2020.Two researchers conducted literature screening,quality evaluation and data extraction according to the nano platoon standard,and used stata16.0 for network meta-analysis.Results:a total of 69 RCTs were included,involving 6168 patients with lumbar disc herniation,5 kinds of acupuncture therapy(warm acupuncture,fire acupuncture,electroacupuncture,acupuncture thread embedding,general acupuncture).The results of network meta-analysis showed that the effect of electroacupuncture was inferior to that of warm acupuncture,acupuncture thread embedding,and the effect of general acupuncture was inferior to that of warm acupuncture,fire acupuncture,electroacupuncture,acupuncture thread embedding,and the difference was statistically significant.In terms of efficiency,acupuncture and moxibustion embedding thread>warming acupuncture and moxibustion>fire acupuncture>electroacupuncture>ordinary acupuncture.Conclusion:in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation,the clinical effect of acupuncture thread embedding is better than the other four interventions.However,the quality and quantity of literature in this study are limited,and the conclusion of this study needs to be verified by high-quality RCT with multiple centers and large samples.

Bleeding of two lumbar arteries caused by one puncture following percutaneous nephrolithotomy:A case report

BACKGROUND Lumbar artery bleeding is an uncommon complication of percutaneous nephrolithotomy(PCNL).This report presents a rare complication where two lumbar arteries were injured by a single puncture following PCNL.Only scarce reports of this complication have been reported.CASE SUMMARY A 24-year-old man presented with a 2.2 cm right renal calculus,which was managed by PCNL.During nephrostomy tube removal on the 6th postoperative day,intense bleeding was observed in the fistula and the catheter.Renal angiography was undertaken immediately;however,an initial selective renal angiogram revealed no evidence of renal vascular injury.One of these injuries involved a pseudoaneurysm from a peripheral branch in the first right lumbar artery,while the other involved an arteriovenous fistula from a peripheral branch in the second right lumbar artery.Subsequently,coil embolization was performed successfully.CONCLUSION This case is being reported to inform clinicians that lumbar artery damage is one of the causes of severe bleeding after PCNL and could involve damage of more than one artery.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON LUMBAR INTERVERTEBRAL DISC HERNIATION TREATED BY TRACTION COMBINED WITH ACUPUNCTURE

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of traction combined with acupuncture on lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH). Methods:Eighty-three patients diagnosed as LIDH were randomly divided into treatment group (n=42)and control group (n=41). In the treatment group, besides lumbar traction, electroacupuncture at Jiaji (EX-B 2, L 3～5), Shenshu (BL 23), Qihai (CV 6), Mingmen (GV 4), Huantiao (GB 30), Chengshan (BL 57) and Yanglingquan (GB 34) was added. In the control group, only lumbar traction was applied. Results: In treatment group, the cure plus markedly effective rate was 80.95% with a total effective rate of 92.86%, while in control group, it was 39.02% with a total effective rate of 80.48%. The therapeutic effect in the treatment group was obviously better than that in the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Lumbar traction plus EA can effectively alleviate or even eliminate clinical symptoms and signs of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation.

Role of lumbar puncture in clinical outcome of suspected acute bacterial meningitis

BACKGROUND Meningitis remains a significant source of mortality and morbidity,with an incidence of 1 per 100000 persons in the United States.Guidelines recommend obtaining blood cultures and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)studies in patients presenting with acute meningitis syndrome,and beginning treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics based on the age and certain predisposing conditions.In some patients however,the diagnostic lumbar puncture(LP)is not performed due to a multitude of reasons,ranging from increased intracranial pressure to failed attempt.In such situations,appropriate therapy is initiated empirically and often continued without establishment of a definitive diagnosis.AIM To determine whether a diagnostic LP in acute meningitis syndrome was associated with a better outcome and less duration of antibiotic therapy,along with potential causes for deferral of procedure.METHODS A retrospective study was conducted amongst the patients presenting to a 360 bedded community hospital in central Massachusetts with a diagnosis of acute meningitis syndrome between January 2010-September 2022.The electronic health records were accessed to collect necessary demographic and clinical data,including etiology of meningitis,lumbar puncture results,reason for procedure deferral,duration of antibiotic therapy and clinical outcome.The patients were subsequently divided into two groups based on whether they received a LP or not,and data was analyzed.RESULTS A total of 169 patients admitted with acute meningitis syndrome between September 2010-2022 were included in the study.The mean age of the participants was 54.3 years(SD+/-19.2 years).LP was performed for 130(76.9%)participants,out of which,28(21.5%)showed some growth in CSF culture.The most commonly identified organism was streptococcus pneumoniae.Amongst the 39 patients in whom LP was deferred,the major reasons recorded were:Body habitus(n=6,15.4%),and unsuccessful attempt(n=4,10.3%).While 93(71.5%)patients with LP received antibiotic therapy,only 19(48.7%)patients without LP received the antibiotics,with the principal reason being spontaneous improvement in sensorium without any diagnosed source of infection.The mean duration of antibiotic use was 12.3 days(SD+/-5.6)in the LP group and 11.5 days(SD+/-7.0)in the non-LP group(P=0.56;statistically not significant).We observed higher long term sequalae in the non-LP group(n=6,15.4%)compared to the LP group(n=9,6.9%).Similarly,the death rate was higher in the non-LP group(n=7,18.0%)compared to the LP group(n=9,6.9%).CONCLUSION LP remains the cornerstone for diagnosing meningitis,but often CSF results are unavailable,leading to empiric treatment.Our study identified that body habitus and unsuccessful attempts were the most common reasons for LP not being performed,leading to empiric antibiotic coverage.There was no difference between the duration of antibiotics received by the two groups,but a lower proportion of patients without LP received antibiotics,attributed to a spontaneous improvement in sensorium.However,the residual neurological sequelae and death rates were higher in patients without LP,signifying a potential under-treatment.A LP remains crucial to diagnose meningitis,and a lack of CSF analysis predisposes to under-treatment,leading to higher neurological sequelae and increased chances of death.

Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension in Pregnancy Treated with Serial Lumbar Punctures

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a syndrome of elevated intracranial pressure with normal CSF composi-tion and no evidence of hydrocephalus or mass lesion. We describe the anesthetic management of a parturient with IIH who required multiple lumbar punctures during pregnancy and delivery secondary to worsening neurological symp-toms.

Safety and feasibility of ultra-early lumbar puncture in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

Objective:to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of ultra-early lumbar puncture drainage of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH).Methods:patients(n=140)with aneurysmal SAH were randomly divided into observation group(n=70)and control group(n=70).After admission,CSF was drained by ultra-early lumbar puncture in the observation group and intermittent lumbar puncture after aneurysm operation in the control group.The incidences of early aneurysm rupture,acute hydrocephalus and delayed hydrocephalus were compared between the two groups.Results:there was no significant diflerence in the incidence of early-ruptured aneurysm and acute hydrocephalus between the two groups,but the incidence of delayed hydrocephalus in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group.Conclusion:ultra-early lumbar puncture drainage of CSF in anexirysmal SAH can effectively reduce the incidence of long-term delayed hydrocephalus and it is a safe and effective treatment.

Coaxial radiography guided puncture technique for percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy:A randomized control trial

BACKGROUND The coaxial radiography-guided puncture technique(CR-PT)is a novel technique for endoscopic lumbar discectomy.As the X-ray beam and the puncturing needle are maintained in a parallel and coaxial direction,the X-ray beam can be used to guide the trajectory angle,facilitating the choice of the puncture site and providing real-time guidance.This puncture technique offers numerous advantages over the conventional anterior-posterior and lateral radiography-guided puncture technique(AP-PT),especially in cases of herniated lumbar discs with a hypertrophied transverse process or articular process,high iliac crest,and narrowed intervertebral foramen.AIM To confirm whether CR-PT is a superior approach to percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy compared to AP-PT.METHODS In this parallel,controlled,randomized clinical trial,herniated lumbar disc patients appointed to receive percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy treatment were recruited from the Pain Management Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and Nantong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.Sixty-five participants were enrolled and divided into either a CR-PT group or an AP-PT group.The CR-PT group underwent CR-PT,and the AP-PT group underwent AP-PT.The number of fluoroscopies during puncturing,puncture duration(min),surgery duration(min),VAS score during puncturing,and puncture success rate were recorded.RESULTS Sixty-five participants were included,with 31 participants in the CR-PT group and 34 in the AP-PT group.One participant in the AP-PT group dropped out due to unsuccessful puncturing.The number of fluoroscopies[median(P25,P75)]was 12(11,14)in the CR-PT group vs 16(12,23)in the AP-PT group,while the puncture duration(mean±SD)was 20.42±5.78 vs 25.06±5.46,respectively.The VAS score was 3(2,4)in the CR-PT group vs 3(3,4)in the AP-PT group.Further subgroup analysis was performed,considering only the participants with L5/S1 segment herniation:9 patients underwent CR-PT,and 9 underwent AP-PT.The number of fluoroscopies was 11.56±0.88 vs 25.22±5.33;the puncture duration was 13.89±1.45 vs 28.89±3.76;the surgery duration was 105(99.5,120)vs 149(125,157.5);and the VAS score was 2.11±0.93 vs 3.89±0.6,respectively.All the above outcomes demonstrated statistical significance(P<0.05),favoring the CR-PT treatment.CONCLUSION CR-PT is a novel and effective technique.As opposed to conventional AP-PT,this technique significantly improves puncture accuracy,shortens puncture time and operation time,and reduces pain intensity during puncturing.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON ELECTRO-ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT OF 51 CASES OF PROTRUSION OF LUMBAR INTERVERTEBRAL DISC

Through electroacupuncture(EA) treatment of 51 cases of protrusion of lumbar interver-tebral disc, it was further demonstrated that the specific action and characteristics of Siyao and Wuyao acupoints were significant and elucidated by using some objective indexes and obvious therapeutic ef-fect, which lays a foundation for the development, research, popularization and application of shu-point and provides an effective and practicable way for treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc.