facet block

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the frequency of facet joint inflammatory features noted in routine radiology reports of lumbar spine Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies among patients with chronic low back pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Facet joint arthropathy is one of the most common causes of chronic low back pain. It may encompass various inflammatory imaging characteristics, such as facet joint effusion, bone marrow edema, and soft tissue edema...

INTRODUCTION: Lumbar facet joint pain may refer to the back, buttocks, and proximal parts of the lower extremities. Intraarticular facet joint injections, facet joint nerve blocks, or facet joint neurolytic procedures are popular for the management of facet joint pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective, randomised study, 60 patients with a medical evaluation and pain pattern consistent with lumbar facet joint pain were randomly allocated to two groups. Group Ⅰ (n=30) patients were administered fluoroscope-guided lumbar facet joint injection, and group Ⅱ (n=30) patients were administered fluoroscope-guided lumbar facet joint nerve block...

(1) Background: Lower back pain is often caused by lumbar facet joint syndrome. This study investigated the effectiveness of three different injection methods under ultrasound guidance in treating elderly patients with lumbar facet joint syndrome. The difficulty in performing these injections was also evaluated; (2) Methods: A total of 60 elderly patients with facet joint syndrome as the cause of lower back pain were recruited and divided into 3 groups. Group 1 received medial branch block (MBB). Group 2 received intra-articular facet joint injections...

Janus particles, which have an attractive patch on the otherwise repulsive surface, have been commonly employed for anisotropic colloidal assembly. While current methods of particle synthesis allow for control over the patch size, they are generally limited to producing dome-shaped patches with a high symmetry (C∞ ). Here, we report on the synthesis of Janus particles with patches of various tunable shapes, having reduced symmetries ranging from C2v to C3v and C4v . The Janus particles are synthesized by partial encapsulation of an octahedral metal-organic framework particle (UiO-66) in a polymer matrix...

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 389, Issue 25, December 2023.

INTRODUCTION: Many transformations and uncertainties, such as the fourth industrial revolution and pandemics, have propelled healthcare acceptance and deployment of health information systems (HIS). External and internal determinants aligning with the global course influence their deployments. At the epic is digitalization, which generates endless data that has permeated healthcare. The continuous proliferation of complex and dynamic healthcare data is the digitalization frontier in healthcare that necessitates attention...

PURPOSE: The current case series describes three cases of fusion between the 2nd cervical vertebra, the axis (C2), and the 3rd cervical vertebra (C3), creating a C2-C3 osseous complex and highlighting its morphological type of fusion (partial or complete) and morphometric details. The developmental background of this complex is emphasized, pointing out the possible clinical significance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The osseous complexes were derived from disarticulated skeletons of body donors and were collected from the osseous collection of the Anatomy Department of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens...

One of the most common sources of spinal pain syndromes is the facet joints. Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar facet joint pain syndromes comprise 55%, 42%, and 31% of chronic spinal pain syndromes, respectively. Common facet joint disorders are degenerative disorders, such as osteoarthritis, hypertrophied superior articular process, and facet joint cysts; septic arthritis; systemic and metabolic disorders, such as ankylosing spondylitis or gout; and traumatic dislocations. The facet pain syndrome from osteoarthritis is suspected from a patient's history (referred pain pattern) and physical examination (tenderness)...

River-floodplain ecosystems are highly complex and dynamic systems that are subjected to human disturbance, such as the construction of levees. Aquatic insects are among the most widely used indicators to assess human impacts on floodplain wetlands. Most studies are still based on taxonomic biodiversity. However, trait-based approaches remain limited, which could impede the development of effective management strategies. Here, we investigated aquatic insect assemblages in eleven pairs of wetlands along the Wusuli River in two seasons (Spring and Autumn) and assessed their responses to the impact of levee construction, considering taxonomic and functional diversity...

Trait irritability in toddlerhood is a powerful risk factor for later internalizing and externalizing challenges in non-autistic children, but the predictive clinical utility of irritability is unknown in autism. Irritability is a trait-level emotional response (i.e., frustration) to a blocked goal and is one source of disruptive behavior. Irritability has two facets: Frustration is the degree to which emotion is elevated after a blocked goal, while soothability is the rate of recovery from peak distress. We aimed to: (1) compare and describe the two facets of irritability in non-autistic and young autistic children, and (2) assess whether children's reward sensitivity and executive function moderate the relation between irritability and clinical symptoms...

Low back pain is one of the most common complaints in primary care. This pain is usually nonspecific and musculoskeletal. However, identification and exclusion of specific causes of pain as early as possible are important for specialists since their underestimation can sometimes lead to life-threatening consequences. The authors analyze literature data on the key facts of anamnesis («red flags»), management of patients with low back pain with emphasis on modern concepts and recommendations for diagnostics, identifying the dominant nature and cause of pain, differential diagnosis, and diagnostic significance of neuroimaging...

Three facets of food safety culture (FSC) (i.e., food safety management system (FSMS), human-organizational and human-individual building block), were diagnosed through a validated mixed-method assessment in twenty food processing companies. Many underdeveloped dimensions were detected in the FSMS and the human-organizational building block, while the human-individual building block was more mature. It was explored whether company (e.g., company size) and employee characteristics (e.g. leaders vs. non-leaders) are associated with FSC maturity (based on 1410 employee responses) through a cluster analysis and statistical (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis) tests...

Lumbar facet joints have been identified as a potential source of chronic low back pain (LBP) in 15% to 45% of patients, with the prevalence of such pain varying based on specific populations and settings examined. Lumbar facet joint interventions are useful in the diagnosis as well as the therapeutic management of chronic LBP. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of medial branch nerves is recognized as a safe and effective therapy for chronic facet joint pain in the lumbosacral spine, and its efficacy has already been established...

DNA replication in all organisms must overcome nucleoprotein blocks to complete genome duplication. Accessory replicative helicases in Escherichia coli, Rep and UvrD, help remove these blocks and aid the re-initiation of replication. Mechanistic details of Rep function have emerged from recent live cell studies; however, the division of UvrD functions between its activities in DNA repair and role as an accessory helicase remain unclear in live cells. By integrating super-resolved single-molecule fluorescence microscopy with biochemical analysis, we find that UvrD self-associates into tetrameric assemblies and, unlike Rep, is not recruited to a specific replisome protein despite being found at approximately 80% of replication forks...

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic fatal disease with limited therapeutic options. The infiltration of monocytes and fibroblasts into the injured lungs is implicated in IPF. Enolase-1 (ENO1) is a cytosolic glycolytic enzyme which could translocate onto the cell surface and act as a plasminogen receptor to facilitate cell migration via plasmin activation. Our proprietary ENO1 antibody, HL217, was screened for its specific binding to ENO1 and significant inhibition of cell migration and plasmin activation (patent: US9382331B2)...

In-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks show great potential to be used as building blocks for electronic, optoelectronic and topological quantum devices, and all these applications are keen to grow the InAs materials directly on Si substrates since it may enable nanowire electronic and quantum devices with seamless integration with Si platform. However, almost all the in-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks have been realized on substrates of III-V semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate the selective area epitaxial growth of in-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks on Si substrates...

BACKGROUND:  Adverse events are considered a universal challenge and a burden in the provision of healthcare. For that reason, significant event analysis (SEA) is a critical undertaking in primary health care (PHC), particularly in South Africa where 84% of the population relies on the public health system for their care. AIM:  The study aimed to describe the types of perceived significant events medical students experienced during an integrated primary care block placement...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of consecutive facet medial branch (FMB) radiofrequency denervation (RFD) and dorsal root ganglion pulse radiofrequency (DRG PRF) therapy in patients with chronic lumbar facet joint pain. METHODS: The study included 27 patients with chronic lumbar pain who had ≥50% pain reduction after FMB block for suspected lumbar facet syndrome and subsequently underwent FMB RFD together with PRF to the adjacent DRG...

INTRODUCTION: In the principles of the organization of armed struggle of the defense forces of most developed countries of the world, considerable attention is paid to the evaluation of combat readiness of the military personnel. This procedure is conditioned by such interconnected goals of the armed struggle as the maximum realization of the combat potential and the minimization of personnel losses. The purpose of the work is to determine the physiological cost of the activities of the soldiers of the Defense Forces of Ukraine with the help of miniature electrocardiographic hardware and software complexes...

During a conference of pain specialists, some of the experts addressed the potential management of four prevalent but difficult painful conditions, namely, chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP), knee osteoarthritis, chest trauma, and facet joint arthropathy. In all cases, the conditions posed challenges in accurate diagnoses as well as safe, effective treatments, especially using locoregional blocks. It is not clear why some surgical patients develop CPSP and others do not, although some risk factors have been identified...