• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.87-94
• /
• 2013

Objectives : In this study, we intended to make the foundation of the development of acupuncture tissue model as comparing the needle sensation of six kinds of tissue models and Zusanli ($ST_{36}$) with the needle force measurement system. Methods : When practitioners did twisting-rotating acupuncture needle manipulation after inserting the needle into six kinds of tissue models, they quantified the similarity sense to the sensation of Zusanli ($ST_{36}$) with the NRS (Numeric Rating scale). As needle force measurement system did twisting-rotating Acupuncture needle manipulation after inserting needle into Zusanli ($ST_{36}$) of human and six kinds of tissue models, it can calculate the coefficient of viscosity by measuring the torsion friction. We compare the NRS of practitioners' needle sensation to the coefficient of viscosity of needle force measurement systems. Result : As practitioners' NRS assessment to quantify needle sensation, apple and cucumber showed 70% similarity to Zusanli ($ST_{36}$). As needle force measurement system's coefficient of viscosity, apple and cucumber's coefficient of viscosity were similar to Zusanli ($ST_{36}$)'s. Conclusions : In this study, We compared the practitioners' needle sensation of Zusanli ($ST_{36}$) and six kinds of tissue models with needle force measurement system that can quantify the needle sensation. As the result, we concluded that practitioners' needle sensation is similar to measured needle sensation. It seems that the acupuncture practice model implementing the needle sensation to specific acupuncture points can be built based on the system in this study.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.67-71
• /
• 2005

Objectives : This study was conducted to observe the tip of needles which induce poor needle sensation upon injection of herbal acupuncture. Methods : Among the syringes used for herbal acupuncture, needles which cause poor sensation were collected and evaluated by SEM (scanning electron microscope) for changes in structure, existence of impure matters, physical damage, and etc. Results : 1. Various forms contributed to poor needle sensation. Bent needle body, damaged or crooked needle tip, and blunted tip 2. Poor needles could be made during the manufacturing process, during insertion of the needle into the vial(except for the lubricants), and repeated procedures with one needle at different regions. Conclusion : Poor needles induce unnecessary pain and discomfort not only to the patients but also to administrators during injection. Herbal acupuncture is a treatment technique injecting herbal extract on the meridian points, and strict quality check must be enforced to prevent occurrence of poor needles.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.149-158
• /
• 2018

Objectives : In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the needle forces using needle insertion-measurement system and compared the needle sensation of each acupuncture practical model. Methods : After inserting acupuncture with a sensor to six models, a lifting-thrusting motion was implemented using the needle insertion-measurement system. The needle force was measured repeatedly, and the measurement was analyzed based on the modified Karnopp friction model for a comparison of friction coefficients. After the insertion, practitioners did lifting-thrusting manipulations. They quantified the similarity of needle sensation with VAS (Visual Analogue Scale). Results : When friction force and coefficients of friction in five different models were compared with a porcine shank model, all five models were significantly different from a porcine shank model, cotton and apple showing the closest frictional values to that of a porcine shank model. In the Cp and Cn values of cotton and in the Cp values of IM injection pad, there was no statistically significant difference. The similarity of the needle sensation between the porcine shank and five models was the highest in the apple, and overlapping papers was the lowest. Conclusions : This study quantitatively compared the physical forces in the practical model when implementing lifting-thrusting manipulations, using a needle insertion-measurement system. We suggest that a reproducible exercise model that reflects the characteristics of various human tissues, such as viscoelasticity or strength, needs to be further developed. This will contribute to establishing standardized acupuncture practice training.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.85-99
• /
• 2006

Objectives : Proper acupuncture stimulation is associated with a characteristic set of sensation usually referred to as 'De-Qi'. In order to develop the appropriate sham acupuncture, various sensations to each stimulation should be considered through analysis of the profiles of acupuncture sensation. It was therefore investigated to compare the acupuncture sensation scale (ASS) of two types of sham acupuncture to that of the real acupuncture. Methods : Ninety-four participants (mean age 26.4, range 26-49) were asked to complete five point-Likert scale ASS developed by Vincent et al. after real or two-kinds of sham acupuncture stimulation: blunted tip sham acupuncture (BT) and round tip sham acupuncture (RT). Needling was done at LI4 acupoint on non-dominant hand and stimulated for 30 seconds with real or two-kinds of sham needle. Finger withdrawal latency (FWL) of each group was also measured to evaluate the pain sensitivity to noxious heat stimuli. Results : BT acupuncture significantly less produced penetrating, numb, intense, hurting, pulling, shock, tingling, throbbing sensation than real acupuncture stimulation. RT acupuncture significantly less produced penetrating, burning, electric, numb, intense, hurting, pulling, aching, shasharp, shock, stinging, tingling, throbbing sensation than real acupuncture. Each group did not demonstrate the differences of pain sensitivity to noxious stimuli. Conclusions : These results indicated that types of tip of acupuncture produced different kinds of acupuncture sensation. Our finding provides a general information of sensations to two kinds of sham acupuncture for development of ideal placebo sham needle.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.175-185
• /
• 2008

Objective : Acupuncture (from the Latin acus, "needle," and pungere, "to prick") is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine needles at specific points on the body. As a placebo acupuncture needle device was developed based on the visual impact of needling, it has been raised that it is useful only when acupuncture points and needling are visible to subjects. To examine the visual factor of the placebo acupuncture, the present study was aimed to compare the blinding index of the verum and placebo acupuncture between masked and unmasked situation. Methods : Thirty-six patients were randomly alloted to be stimulated with a verum or placebo acupuncture in a cross-over design. They were asked to guess a right answer whether they were stimulated with the verum or placebo acupuncture at LI4 in an unmasked or masked situation. The penetrating, pain, and deqi sensations were also measured after the stimulation using modified visual analogue scale. Results : The correct answer rate of the placebo acupuncture was 22.2% and 16.7% in an unmasked and masked situation, respectively (P>0.767). The blinding index of the placebo acupuncture was -0.56 (95%CI -0.84 to -0.27) and -0.67 (95%CI -0.91 to -0.42) in an unmasked and masked situation, respectively. The penetrating and deqi sensation of the verum acupuncture were significantly higher than those of the placebo acupuncture in both unmasked and masked situation. The pain sensation of the verum acupuncture was significantly higher than that of the placebo acupuncture in masked situation, but not in unmasked situation. Conclusion : Blinding of the placebo acupuncture was successful both in the unmasked and masked situation. These finding indicate that visual factor might not play a critical role in blinding of the placebo needle. We suggest that placebo needle would be also useful in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan even when the subject could not see the placebo needle.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.129-132
• /
• 1993

Paraplegia complicating a block of the celiac plexus with alcohol for recurrent stomach cancer is described. A 33 year old male patient was admitted to control for severe epigastric pain. With the patient in prone position, the needle was advanced further than 2 cm on the anterior margin of $L_1$ vertebral body under fluoroscopy. 3 ml of 1% lidocaine and 5 ml of conray were injected through each needle, and the diffusion of the contrast medium was checked, This was followed by 7 ml of pure alcohol and 8 ml of 50% alcohol for each needle. At that time, the patient was very satisfied with loss of abdominal pain. About 30 minutes after injection of alcohol, suddenly patient complained of severe burning pain on back and both extremities. Thereafter, loss of sensation and paralysis in both extremities were developed slowly. The senstivity to cold recovered 3 days after block. By the 33rd day after the block, sensation had recovered in both extremities, the bladder and rectum. Movement of the right ankle joint and left great toe was also possible.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.43-58
• /
• 2007

Objectives : The elicit of DeQi, a composite of sensation including numbness and fullness that develops at the site of acupuncture stimulation, is considered to be clinically essential to establish treatment efficacy. However, there was little studies investigating the relationship between the subjective feeling of acupuncture sensation and acupuncture analgesia, The current study was therefore performed to determine the correlation between the acupuncture sensation scale (ASS) and the degree of acupuncture analgesia. Methods : Ninety-two female subjects were stimulated at LI4 acupoint on non-dominant hand with real (RA) or sham acupuncture (SA). Finger withdrawal latency (FWL) of each group was also measured to evaluate analgesic effect of acupuncture on the noxious heat stimuli on the dominant hand. All subjects were asked to complete seven point-Likert scale ASS developed by Vincent et al. Results : The increase rate of FWL of the RA group was significantly higher than that of the SA group(36.03 ${\pm}$ 4.45% vs 24.50 ${\pm}$ 3.73%). RA stimulation produced significantly higher rating of all the ASS except for dull sensation, compared to SA stimulation. Significant correlations between analgesic effect of RA, but not of SA, and the degree of the ASS, including burning sensation(r=0.349), Intense sensation(r=0.299), pulsating sensation (r=0.335), and stinging sensation (r=0.306) were found. Conclusions : The results of our study indicate that the DeQi sensation are associated with acupuncture analgesia. Our findings suggest that the evocation of DeQi might be useful clinical indicator of acupuncture treatment.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.83-87
• /
• 2020

Foreign body (FB) ingestion is commonly seen in the ear nose and throat (ENT) field, with different presentations and sequelae. FBs can arrest in the upper aerodigestive tract or continue further down into either the airway tract to the bronchus or the digestive tract to the intestines. The pathway of an FB depends on the size and shape of the FB and how sharp its edges are. Since the 20th century, the use of disposable stainless-steel needles in the oral cavity has proven to be an effective and safe method for performing various intraoral procedures like dental infiltration or a root canal wash. Complications from their use are rare. Generally, dental needle breakages are caused by patients biting the needle, incorrect injection techniques, or inadequate preventative measures. The sudden movement of a patient during a procedure is one of the most common causes of breakage. Occasionally, needles are swallowed during dental procedures such as a root canal. Here, we report a case of a patient that swallowed a broken needle during a dental procedure. A few days later, the patient presented with neck pain, swelling, and a FB sensation. When the patient presented, she claimed that her symptoms had onset after consuming a meal containing duck meat. Initially, the patient was diagnosed as having ingested a duck bone. However, intraoperatively, the FB was discovered to be an injection needle that had migrated from the throat to the neck.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.131-133
• /
• 2011

We performed a percutaneous vertebroplasty at the compressed L2 vertebral body of a 73-year-old female using a left-sided unilateral extrapedicular approach. She complained severe radiating pain and a tingling sensation in her left leg two hours after the vertebroplasty. Spinal computed tomographic scan showed a large retroperitoneal hematoma, and a subsequent spinal angiography revealed a left L2 segmental artery injury. Bleeding was successfully controlled by endovascular embolization. Recently, extrapedicular approaches have been attempted, allowing for the avoidance of facet and pedicle injury with only a unilateral approach. With this approach, however, the needle punctures the vertebral body directly. Therefore, this procedure carries the potential risk of a spinal segmental artery.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.194-197
• /
• 1999

We experienced an extremely rare case of lipoid pneumonia combined with empyema. A 53-year-old patient was admitted because of chilling sensation and blood tinged sputum. Simple X-ray and computered tomography(CT) showed a huge homogeneous opacification in the left lower lung field. This patient was diagnosed as endogenous type lipoid pneumonia by a computed tomography guided needle biopsy; decortication and left lower lobectomy are performed. We diagnosed it as endogenous type lipoid pneumonia because it revealed a foreign body reaction and lipid laden macrophage on the pathologic examination.