OBJECTIVE Radiosurgery has gained acceptance as a treatment option for trigeminal neuralgia. We report our preliminary multicenter experience treating trigeminal neuralgia with the CyberKnife (Accuray, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA). METHODS A total of 95 patients were treated for idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia between May 2002 and October 2005. Radiosurgical dose and volume parameters were retrospect...

AIMS To determine the ability of cyclodiode laser treatment to relieve discomfort in painful blind glaucomatous eyes. METHODS 30 eyes underwent cyclodiode to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) and relieve pain. Patients graded their pre-cyclodiode and post-cyclodiode pain. RESULTS After a minimum follow up of 6 months, a single cyclodiode treatment lowered mean IOP from 51 mm Hg (95% CI plus...

OBJECTIVES (1) To assess the proportion of patients of triage category 3-5 presenting to the minor side of an urban emergency department who present without taking prior pain relief, and (2) to describe the reasons why they do not take pain relief for their presenting complaint METHOD By patient interview of a convenience sample of 60 adult patients in the setting of an urban emergency depart...

BACKGROUND Population mean changes from clinical trials are difficult to apply to individuals in clinical practice. Responder analysis may be better, but needs validating for level of response and treatment duration. METHODS The numbers of patients with pain relief over baseline (> or =15%, > or =30%, > or =50%, > or =70%) at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment were obtained using the WOMAC 100...

for Vets in that what the authors were describing were not clinical guidelines, we wish to highlight that meloxicam is the only NSAID licensed for the relief of postoperative pain following dehorning in calves. This is based on extensive work looking at a variety of measures of assessing pain and wellbeing, including physiological and behavioural parameters. One example of these measures is use...

Labour is thought to be one of the most intense and painful experiences in a woman's life. Numerous studies using a Visual Analogue Scale invariably demonstrate that 20% of women in labour describe the pain as "unbearable" and 60% describe the pain as "very intense". Since the mid-1980s, continuous epidural analgesia during labour has been considered the gold standard of labour anaesthesia and ...

Access to pain relief is an integral part of peri-operative care jointly managed by clinicians and nursing staff. Simple regimens, relying on inexpensive drugs, are often not followed due to inadequate healthcare systems. This article describes some of the common challenges, and suggests practical approaches to overcoming them.

BACKGROUND Lumbar facet joints are a well recognized source of low back pain and referred pain in the lower extremity in patients with chronic low back pain. Conventional clinical features and other non-invasive diagnostic modalities are unreliable in diagnosing lumbar zygapophysial joint pain. Controlled diagnostic studies with at least 80% pain relief as the criterion standard have shown the ...