• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.193-198
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• 2001

Background: Anterior atlantoaxial subluxation (AAS) is a frequent phenomenon in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). AAS compresses the C2 ganglion or nerve and is a cause of posterior neck pain or occipital headache. Methods: We selected RA patients that had developed posterior neck pain or occipital headache caused by AAS. AAS was diagnosed by an increase of ADI (atlantodental interval). A distance of 3 mm or more was considered significant. Patients with vertical subluxation or symptoms suggestive of myelopathy were excluded. Before C2 RF ganglionotomy, we proceeded with a C2 ganglion block or greater occipital nerve block used by local anesthetics. For C2 RF ganglionotomy, the patient was placed in the supine position on a fluoroscopic table. A 100 mm, 4 mm active tip electrode was chosen. Following sensory stimulation at 0.2 to 0.6 V, the lesion was performed at a temperature of $60^{\circ}C$ to $65^{\circ}C$ for 60 sec. We followed up the patient after 6 months later. Results: All cases were female and the average duration of RA was 8.5 years. The duration of posterior neck pain or occipital headache was 1-8 months. The average ADI was 4.2 mm and the McGregor index was 3.3 mm on the average. In all cases, the score on the 4 point Likert scale was 4 (pain free) during the follow-up period. Conclusions: We found that the occipital headache or posterior neck pain caused by AAS in rheumatoid arthritis patients was alleviated over a short term follow up. C2 RF ganglionotomy is suggested as an effective palliative treatment for AAS in RA patients.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2013

Background: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a serious complication resulting from herpes zoster infections, and it can impair the quality of life. In order to relieve pain from PHN, various treatments, including pharmacological and interventional methods have been used. However, little information on the recommendations for the interventional treatment of PHN, along with a lack of nation-wide surveys on the current status of PHN treatment exists. This multicenter study is the first survey on the treatment status of PHN in Korea. Methods: Retrospective chart reviews were conducted on the entire patients who visited the pain clinics of 11 teaching hospitals from January to December of 2011. Co-morbid disease, affected site of PHN, routes to pain clinic visits, parenteral/topical medications for treatment, drugs used for nerve block, types and frequency of nerve blocks were investigated. Results: A total of 1,414 patients' medical records were reviewed. The most commonly affected site was the thoracic area. The anticonvulsants and interlaminar epidural blocks were the most frequently used pharmacological and interventional methods for PHN treatment. For the interval of epidural block, intervals of 5 or more-weeks were the most popular. The proportion of PHN patients who get information from the mass media or the internet was only 0.8%.The incidence of suspected zoster sine herpete was only 0.1%. Conclusions: The treatment methods for PHN vary among hospitals. The establishment of treatment recommendation for PHN treatment is necessary. In addition, public relations activities are required in order to inform the patients of PHN treatments by pain clinicians.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 2020

Background: General anesthesia (GA) has been considered the anesthetic technique which most frequent leads to phantom limb pain (PLP) after a limb amputation. However, these prior reports were limited by small sample sizes. The aims of this study were to evaluate the incidence of PLP according to the various anesthetic techniques used for limb amputation and also to compare the occurrence of PLP according to amputation etiology using the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service for large-scale demographic information. Methods: The claims of patients who underwent limb amputation were reviewed by analyzing the codes used to classify standardized medical behaviors. The patients were categorized into three groups-GA, neuraxial anesthesia (NA), and peripheral nerve block (PNB)-in accordance with the anesthetic technique. The recorded diagnosis was confirmed using the diagnostic codes for PLP registered within one year after the limb amputation. Results: Finally, 7,613 individuals were analyzed. According to the recorded diagnoses, 362 patients (4.8%) developed PLP after amputation. Among the 2,992 patients exposed to GA, 191 (6.4%) were diagnosed with PLP, whereas 121 (4.3%) of the 2,840 patients anesthetized with NA, and 50 (2.8%) of the 1,781 patients anesthetized under PNB developed PLP. The relative risks were 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53-0.84; P < 0.001) for NA and 0.43 (95% CI, 0.32-0.59; P < 0.001) for PNB. Conclusions: In this retrospective cohort study, using large-scale population-based databases, the incidence rates of PLP after limb amputations were, in the order of frequency, GA, NA, and PNB.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.451-459
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• 2021

Background: Lignocaine with adrenaline is routinely used as a local anesthetic for dental procedures. Adrenaline was added to increase the duration of anesthesia. However, epinephrine containing a local anesthetic solution is not recommended in conditions such as advanced cardiovascular diseases and hyperthyroidism. Recently, ropivacaine has gained popularity as a long-acting anesthetic with superior outcomes. The goal of this study was to assess and compare the effectiveness of 0.75% ropivacaine alone and 2% lignocaine with adrenaline (1:80,000) in the removal of bilateral maxillary wisdom teeth using the posterior superior alveolar nerve block technique. Methods: This was a single-blind, randomized, split-mouth, prospective study assessing 15 systemically sound outpatients who needed bilateral removal of maxillary third molars. We randomly allocated the sides and sequences of ropivacaine and lignocaine with adrenaline administration. We evaluated the efficacy of both anesthetics with regard to the onset of anesthesia, intensity of pain, variation in heart rate, and blood pressure. Results: The onset of anesthesia was faster with lignocaine (138 s) than with ropivacaine (168 s), with insignificant differences (p = 0.001). There was no need for additional local anesthetics in the ropivacaine group, while in the lignocaine with adrenaline group, 2 (13.3%) patients required additional anesthesia. Adequate intraoperative anesthesia was provided by ropivacaine and lignocaine solutions. No significant difference was observed in the perioperative variation in blood pressure and heart rate. Conclusion: Ropivacaine (0.75%) is a safe and an adrenaline-free local anesthetic option for posterior superior alveolar nerve block, which provides adequate intraoperative anesthesia and a stable hemodynamic profile for the removal of the maxillary third molar.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.209-215
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• 2019

Background: Pain is an unpleasant sensation ranging from mild localized discomfort to agony and is one of the most commonly experienced symptoms in oral surgery. Usually, local anesthetic agents and analgesics are used for pain control in oral surgical procedures. Local anesthetic agents including lignocaine and bupivacaine are routinely used in varying concentrations. The present study was designed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of 0.25% and 0.5% bupivacaine for postoperative analgesia in infraorbital nerve block. Methods: Forty-one patients undergoing bilateral maxillary orthodontic extraction received 0.5% bupivacaine (n = 41) on one side and 0.25% bupivacaine (n = 41) on the other side at an interval of 7 d. The parameters evaluated for both the bupivacaine concentrations were onset of action, pain during procedure (visual analog scale score [VAS]), and duration of action. The results were noted, tabulated, and analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: The onset of action of 0.5% bupivacaine was quicker than that of 0.25% bupivacaine, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.306). No significant difference was found between the solutions for VAS scores (P = 0.221) scores and duration of action (P = 0.662). Conclusion: There was no significant difference between 0.25% bupivacaine and 0.5% bupivacaine in terms of onset of action, pain during procedure, and duration of action. The use of 0.25% bupivacaine is recommended.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.25-40
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• 2021

Objectives This study was conducted to analyze the effect of using acupotomy for piriformis muscle syndrome. Methods The databases used for the search were PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Koreanstudies Information Service System (KISS), Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), KMbase, and National Digital Science Library (NDSL). The literature was searched using a total of 9 domestic and foreign databases. randomized controlled trial using only acupotomy as an intervention was selected. The selected studies are analyzed the risk of bias through Cochrane risk of bias, and meta-analysis was performed using Revman. Results As a result of meta-analysis of 11 selected studies, acupotomy was more effective than nerve block and acupuncture. In terms of visual analog scale and immediate analgesic effect, acupotomy did not have statistically significant results compared to other treatment methods. meta-analysis of electro-acupuncture and acupotomy showed no significant results. Conclusions When acupotomy is applied as a treatment for piriformis muscle syndrome, it is more effective than nerve block and acupuncture. but most of the studies have been judged as 'unclear' in the risk of bias assessment. Due to characteristics of treatment group and control group's intervention, It is judged that the blinding of the participant was not properly implemented. Therefore, it is considered that high-quality studies are necessary to supplement the problems in the future.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2021

Background: Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) using lidocaine 2% is commonly used for anesthetizing primary mandibular molars; however, this technique has the highest level of patient discomfort compared to other local anesthesia techniques. Therefore, alternative anesthesia techniques are necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a single buccal infiltration of 4% articaine with IANB using 2% lidocaine, for the bilateral extraction of primary mandibular molars. Methods: The present study was conducted on 30 patients aged between 6 and 9 years, who required the extraction of bilateral primary mandibular molars. The patients were randomly divided into two groups as follows: In the first session, Group A received IANB with lidocaine 2% and group B received infiltration with articaine 4%. In the second session, another injection method was performed on the opposite side. The Wong-Baker Facial Pain scale (WBFPS), Face Leg Activity Cry, and Consolability (FLACC), and physiologic parameters were used to assess pain perception. Results: The independent t-test showed no statistically significant difference in blood pressure and heart rate before and after extraction (P > 0.05). The mean FLACC index in the lidocaine and articaine groups was 0.89 and 1.36, respectively; there was no statistically significant difference between them (P > 0.05). According to the results of the chi-square test, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups for WBFPS (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The articaine infiltration technique may be an alternative to the IANB for the extraction of primary mandibular molars.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.82-93
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• 2021

Background: This study used bibliometric analysis of articles published about the topic of regional anesthesia from 1980-2019 with the aim of determining which countries, organizations, and authors were effective, engaged in international cooperation, and had the most cited articles and journals. Methods: All articles published from 1980-2019 included in the Web of Science database and found using the keywords regional anesthesia/anaesthesia, spinal anesthesia/anaesthesia, epidural anesthesia/anaesthesia, neuraxial anesthesia/anaesthesia, combined spinal-epidural, and peripheral nerve block in the title section had bibliometric analysis performed. Correlations between the number of publications from a country with gross domestic product (GDP), gross domestic product (at purchasing power parity) per capita (GDP PPP), and human development index (HDI) values were investigated with the Spearman correlation coefficient. The number of articles that will be published in the future was estimated with linear regression analysis. Results: Literature screening found 11,156 publications. Of these publications, 6,452 were articles. The top 4 countries producing articles were United States of America (n = 1,583), Germany (585), United Kingdom (510), and Turkey (386). There was a significant positive correlation found between the GDP, GDP PPP, and HDI markers for global countries with publication productivity (r = 0.644, P < 0.001; r = 0.623, P < 0.001, r = 0.542, P < 0.001). The most productive organizations were Harvard University and the University of Toronto. Conclusions: This comprehensive study presenting a holistic summary and evaluation of 6,452 articles about this topic may direct anesthesiologists, doctors, academics, and students interested in this topic.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

Background: Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) is known to have a lower success rate for anesthesia in patients with irreversible pulpitis. This calls for supplementary techniques to effectively anesthetize such patients. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the published literature for determining the success rate of anesthesia induction using post-IANB intraligamentary (IL) injection in the mandibular teeth of patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. The review question was, "What is the success rate of IL injection in the mandibular teeth of patients with irreversible pulpitis as a supplementary technique for endodontic treatment?" Methods: A thorough search of electronic databases and manual searches were performed. The protocol of the review was framed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist and was registered in the International Prospective Register of Ongoing Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with a proper criterion for inclusion and exclusion of studies. The included studies were analyzed using the Cochrane Collaboration "Risk of Bias" tool. A meta-analysis that included a comparison of primary nerve block and supplemental IL injection was performed. The success rate was evaluated using the combined risk ratio (RR) with a random risk model. A funnel plot was created to measure publication bias. Results: After all analyses, four studies were included. In the forest plot representation, RRs were 3.56 (95% CI: 2.86, 4.44), which were in favor of the supplemental IL injections. Statistical heterogeneity was found to be 0%. These values suggest that supplemental IL injections provide better success rates for anesthesia. Conclusion: According to the pooled qualitative and quantitative analyses, supplemental IL injections increased anesthetic efficacy.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.41.1-41.23
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of various local anesthesia (LA) in vital asymptomatic teeth. Materials and Methods: Randomized controlled trials comparing pulpal anesthesia of various LA on vital asymptomatic teeth were included in this review. Searches were conducted in the Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, Google Scholar and 3 field-specific journals from inception to May 3, 2019. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment using Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool were done by 2 independent reviewers in duplicate. Network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed within the frequentist setting using STATA 15.0. The LA was ranked, and the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) line was plotted. The confidence of the NMA estimates was assessed using the CINeMA web application. Results: The literature search yielded 1,678 potentially eligible reports, but only 42 were included in this review. For maxillary buccal infiltration, articaine 4% with epinephrine 1:100,000 was more efficacious than lidocaine 2% with epinephrine 1:100,000 (odds ratio, 2.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-3.89). For mandibular buccal infiltration, articaine 4% with epinephrine 1:100,000 was more efficacious than various lidocaine solutions. The SUCRA ranking was highest for articaine 4% with epinephrine when used as maxillary and mandibular buccal infiltrations, and lidocaine 2% with epinephrine 1:80,000 when used as inferior alveolar nerve block. Inconsistency and imprecision were detected in some of the NMA estimates. Conclusions: Articaine 4% with epinephrine is superior when maxillary or mandibular infiltration is required in vital asymptomatic teeth.