Pharmacological pain management in chronic pancreatitis

Intense abdominal pain is a prominent feature of chronic pancreatitis and its treatment remains a major clinical challenge.Basic studies of pancreatic nerves and experimental human pain research have provided evidence that pain processing is abnormal in these patients and in many cases resembles that seen in neuropathic and chronic pain disorders.An important ultimate outcome of such aberrant pain processing is that once the disease has advanced and the pathophysiological processes are firmly established,the generation of pain can become self-perpetuating and independent of the initial peripheral nociceptive drive.Consequently,the management of pain by traditional methods based on nociceptive deafferentation(e.g.,surgery and visceral nerve blockade)becomes difficult and often ineffective.This novel and improved understanding of pain aetiology requires a paradigm shift in pain management of chronic pancreatitis.Modern mechanism based pain treatments taking into account altered pain processing are likely to increasingly replace invasive therapies targeting the nociceptive source,which should be reserved for special and carefully selected cases.In this review,we offer an overview of the current available pharmacological options for pain management in chronic pancreatitis.In addition,future options for pain management are discussed with special emphasis on personalized pain medicine and multidisciplinarity.

Massive pulmonary embolism in Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome after leg raising:A case report

BACKGROUND Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome(KTS)is a rare congenital disorder characterized by a combination of capillary malformations,soft-tissue or bone hypertrophy,and varicose veins or venous malformations.The syndrome predisposes patients to hypercoagulable states,including venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism(PE).CASE SUMMARY A 12-year-old girl with KTS was scheduled excision of verrucous hyperkeratosis in the left foot and posterior aspect of the left leg and left thigh and excision of a cutaneous hemangioma in the right buttock.After induction,the surgeon elevated the patient’s leg for sterilization,whereupon she experienced a massive PE and refractory cardiac arrest.Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO)was performed after prolonged resuscitation,and she had a return of spontaneous circulation.After this episode,the patient was discharged without any neurologic complications.CONCLUSION The mechanism of PE,a lethal disease,involves a preexisting deep vein thrombosis that is mechanically dislodged by compression or changing positions and travels to the pulmonary artery.Therefore,patients predisposed to PE should be prescribed prophylactic anticoagulants.If the patient has unstable vital signs,resuscitation should be started immediately,and extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be considered in settings with existing ECMO protocols,expertise,and equipment.Awareness of PE in patients with KTS while leg raising for sterilization is critical.

Efficacy of vasopressin, steroid, and epinephrine protocol for in-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials with trial sequential analysis

OBJECTIVES To assess the effect of vasopressin,steroid and epinephrine(VSE)combination therapy on return of spontan-eous circulation(ROSC)after in-hospital cardiac arrest(IHCA),and test the conclusiveness of evidence using trial sequential ana-lysis(TSA).METHODS The systematic search included PubMed,EMBASE,Scopus,and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)that included adult patients with IHCA,with at least one group receiving combined VSE therapy were selected.Data was extracted independently by two reviewers.The main outcome of interest was ROSC.Other out-comes included survival to hospital discharge or survival to 30 and 90 days,with good neurological outcomes.RESULTS We included a total of three RCTs(n=869).Results showed that VSE combination therapy increased ROSC(risk ra-tio=1.41;95%CI:1.25-1.59)as compared to placebo.TSA demonstrated that the existing evidence is conclusive.This was also validated by the alpha-spending adjusted relative risk(1.32[1.16,1.49],P<0.0001).Other outcomes could not be meta-analysed due to differences in timeframe in the included studies.CONCLUSIONS VSE combination therapy administered in cardiopulmonary resuscitation led to improved rates of ROSC.Fu-ture trials of VSE therapy should evaluate survival to hospital discharge,neurological function and long-term survival.

Functional MRI of the human brain following auricular stimulation

Background:Acupuncture studies have used neuroradiology procedures to examine the role of the central nervous system (CNS) in body acupuncture, but none of these previous studies investigated CNS relationships to auriculotherapy.