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Biomedical subjects

Nikolai Bogduk

Publications and source records attributed to Nikolai Bogduk.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

The anatomy and pathophysiology of neck pain.

This article carefully itemizes the various anatomic structures that can evoke neck pain, putting in perspective what clinicians know, what they assume, and what they need to understand better about neck pain and pain referred from the neck. The critique of many of the accepted entities in the differential diagnosis of neck pain is crucial to an understanding of the causes of neck pain and an ability to implement appropriate therapies.

Cervical Vertebrae↗
PubMed2003

An audit of the use of epidural injections for back pain and sciatica.

An audit was conducted to determine if epidural injections for back pain and sciatica were practised in accordance with guidelines prescribed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). More than 80% of injections were used for conditions for which they were not indicated, and which the NHMRC considers experimental. Most commonly, epidural injections afforded no benefit to the patients, yet were often repeated. In no instance was informed consent recorded as recommended by the NHMRC. The practice of epidural injections is dissonant both with the evidence-based literature and with recommended guidelines, and squanders both financial and professional resources.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed2002

Mobilization of the rectum: anatomic concepts and the bookshelf revisited.

INTRODUCTION: Sound surgical technique is based on accurate anatomic knowledge. In surgery for cancer, the anatomy of the perirectal fascia and the retrorectal plane is the basis for correct mobilization of the rectum to ensure clear surgical margins and to minimize the risk of local recurrence. METHODS: This review of the literature on the perirectal fascia is based on a translation of the original description by Thoma Jonnesco and a later account by Wilhelm Waldeyer. The Jonnesco description, first published in 1896 in French, is compared with the German account of 1899. These were critically analyzed in the context of our own and other techniques of mobilizing the rectum. CONCLUSIONS: Mobilization of the rectum for cancer can be performed along anatomic planes with minimal blood loss, preservation of the pelvic autonomic nerves and a low prevalence of local recurrence. Different techniques including total mesorectal excision are based on the same anatomic principles, however, popular words have been used to replace accepted, established terminology. In particular, the description of total mesorectal excision has been confusing because of its emphasis on the words "total" and "mesorectum." The use of the word "mesorectum" anatomically is inaccurate and the implication that total excision of all the perirectal fat contained within the perirectal fascia "en bloc" in all patients with rectal cancer will minimize local recurrence remains contentious.

Fascia↗
PubMed2002

Radiofrequency procedures in chronic pain.

Radiofrequency current is simply a tool used for creating discrete thermal lesions in neural pathways in order to interrupt transmission. In pain medicine, radiofrequency lesions have been used to interrupt nociceptive pathways at various sites. This is a palliative treatment not without complications, so its use should be limited to those patients with cancer pain or chronic non-cancer pain for whom conservative non-surgical therapies have been ineffective or intolerable. With the development of alternatives such as intrathecal opioid infusion and neuromodulation technologies, the number of patients considered for neuroablative therapy may dwindle. Nevertheless, there is evidence that radiofrequency neurotomy has an important role in the management of trigeminal neuralgia, nerve root avulsion and spinal pain. In this chapter the evidence for efficacy and safety is reviewed and interrogated with special emphasis on the available randomized controlled trails and systematic review.

Catheter Ablation↗
PubMed2002

Diagnostic nerve blocks in chronic pain.

Diagnostic blocks are used to obtain information about the source of a patient's pain. As such they differ in principle and in practice from regional anaesthetic blocks. In order to be valid, diagnostic blocks must be precise and target-specific. They must be controlled in order to exclude false-positive responses. Sympathetic blocks have traditionally been performed without pharmacological controls, but studies have shown that the features of complex regional pain syndromes can be relieved equally well when normal saline is administered as when local anaesthetic is used. This warns that sympathetic blocks must be controlled in each and every case lest false conclusions be drawn about the response. Medial branch blocks of the lumbar and of the cervical dorsal rami have been extensively investigated in order to establish their validity, diagnostic utility and therapeutic utility. They provide an example and benchmark for how diagnostic blocks can and should be validated.

Anesthesia, Epidural↗
PubMed1998

The morphology and biomechanics of latissimus dorsi.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the morphology of the latissimus dorsi in order to assess its actions on the shoulder, the lumbar spine and the sacroiliac joint. DESIGN: A dissection study accompanied by an analysis of the force vectors of the muscle and its parts. BACKGROUND: Although recognised as a muscle of the shoulder, latissimus dorsi has been accorded a role as an extensor of the lumbar spine, and is said to brace the sacroiliac joint. Consideration of the anatomy of the latissimus dorsi suggests that the magnitude of these actions has been overstated. METHODS: The fascicular anatomy of the latissimus dorsi was determined by dissection in five adult cadavers. The size, attachments, and orientation of each fascicle were determined. By applying a force coefficient the maximum force of each fascicle was estimated from its physiological cross-sectional area. By summing the forces and moments of each fascicle the maximum force exerted by latissimus dorsi was calculated for its actions on the shoulder, the lumbar spine, and the sacroiliac joint. RESULTS: The latissimus dorsi was found to consist of a series of fascicles with segmental attachments to the lower six thoracic spinous processes, the L1 and L2 spinous processes, the lateral raphe of the thoracolumbar fascia, the iliac crest and the lower three ribs. These fascicles were uniform in size across a given muscle but varied from specimen to specimen. The maximum total force exerted by the latissimus dorsi on the shoulder was estimated to range between 162 and 529 N, but in view of the attachments of the muscle, only a portion of that force can be exerted on the lumbar spine. The maximum extensor moment exerted on the lumbar spine was calculated to be 6.3 N m. The maximum force exerted across the sacroiliac joint was calculated to be 30 N. CONCLUSIONS: The latissimus dorsi is designed to move the upper limb or to raise the entire trunk in brachiation. Its possible contribution to extension of the lumbar spine is trivial as is its capacity to brace the sacroiliac joint. RELEVANCE: Despite assertions and concerns to the contrary, the latissimus dorsi is of little mechanical importance in the lumbosacral region.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Four times tables.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Whiplash injury.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1993

Comparative local anaesthetic blocks in the diagnosis of cervical zygapophysial joint pain.

The utility of randomised, double-blind, controlled, comparative local anaesthetic blocks for the diagnosis of cervical, zygapophysial joint pain was studied in 47 patients with chronic neck pain following whiplash injury. Each patient was investigated with radiologically controlled blocks of the medial branches of the cervical, dorsal rami to anaesthetise the target cervical, zygapophysial joint. The blocks were performed using either lignocaine or bupivacaine, randomly allocated, and the patients' responses were assessed in a double-blind fashion. Any positive response was subsequently assessed by repeating the block with the complementary anaesthetic. Only those patients experiencing a longer period of pain relief from the bupivacaine were considered to have true-positive responses. Forty-four patients had pain relief from two blocks at a single level, of whom 34 had longer pain relief from bupivacaine. This result is unlikely to have occurred by chance (P = 0.0002). The durations of pain relief obtained from the anaesthetics were consistent with the known characteristics of these drugs with bupivacaine lasting significantly longer than lignocaine (P = 0.0003). A subgroup of 13 patients were identified with unexpected, prolonged responses to one or both of the anaesthetics. Comparative, diagnostic blocks are a valid technique in the identification of painful zygapophysial joints, and constitute an implementable alternative to normal saline controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

On the nature of neck pain, discography and cervical zygapophysial joint blocks.

To determine the prevalence of disc pain and zygapophysial joint pain occurring simultaneously in the same segment of the neck, 56 patients with post-traumatic neck pain underwent both provocation discography and cervical zygapophysial joint blocks. Both a symptomatic disc and a symptomatic zygapophysial joint were identified in the same segment in 41% of the patients. Discs alone were symptomatic in only 20% of the sample. Zygapophysial joints were symptomatic but discs asymptomatic in 23%. Only 17% of the patients had neither a symptomatic disc nor a symptomatic zygapophysial joint at the segments studied. These observations indicate that the investigation of neck pain by discography alone or by zygapophysial blocks alone constitutes an inadequate approach to neck pain which fails to identify the majority of patients whose symptoms stem from multiple elements in the 3-joint complexes of the neck.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of intradiscal electrothermal therapy for the treatment of discogenic low back pain.

BACKGROUND: Intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) is a treatment for discogenic low back pain the efficacy of which has not been rigorously tested. PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of IDET with that of a placebo treatment. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: Randomized, placebo-controlled, prospective trial. PATIENT SAMPLE: Patients were recruited by referral and the media. No inducements were provided to any patient in order to have them participate. Of 1,360 individuals who were prepared to submit to randomization, 260 were found potentially eligible after clinical examination and 64 became eligible after discography. All had discogenic low back pain lasting longer than 6 months, with no comorbidity. Thirty-seven were allocated to IDET and 27 to sham treatment. Both groups were satisfactorily matched for demographic and clinical features. METHODS: IDET was performed using a standard protocol, in which the posterior annulus of the painful disc was heated to 90 C. Sham therapy consisted of introducing a needle onto the disc and exposing the patient to the same visual and auditory environment as for a real procedure. Thirty-two (85%) of the patients randomized to the IDET group and 24 (89%) of those assigned to the sham group complied fully with the protocol of the study, and complete follow-up data are available for all of these patients. OUTCOME MEASURES: The principal outcome measures were pain and disability, assessed using a visual analog scale for pain, the Short Form (SF)-36, and the Oswestry disability scale. RESULTS: Patients in both groups exhibited improvements, but mean improvements in pain, disability and depression were significantly greater in the group treated with IDET. More patients deteriorated when subjected to sham treatment, whereas a greater proportion showed improvements in pain when treated with IDET. The number needed to treat, to achieve 75% relief of pain, was five. Whereas approximately 40% of the patients achieved greater than 50% relief of their pain, approximately 50% of the patients experienced no appreciable benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Nonspecific factors associated with the procedure account for a proportion of the apparent efficacy of IDET, but its efficacy cannot be attributed wholly to a placebo effect. The results of this trial cannot be generalized to patients who do not fit the strict inclusion criteria of this study, but IDET appears to provide worthwhile relief in a small proportion of strictly defined patients undergoing this treatment for intractable low back pain.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Two-year follow-up of a controlled trial of intradiscal electrothermal anuloplasty for chronic low back pain resulting from internal disc disruption.

BACKGROUND: On the basis of observational data, intradiscal electrothermal anuloplasty (IDETA) has been implemented as a treatment for back pain resulting from internal disc disruption. PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of IDETA. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with comparison group and 2-year follow-up. PATIENT SAMPLE: Of 53 patients who satisfied the diagnostic criteria for internal disc disruption, 36 were allocated to a treatment group and 17 to a comparison group, according to whether their insurer approved treatment with IDETA. OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes were assessed in terms of relief of pain, return to work and use of opioids to treat persisting pain. METHODS: The treatment group underwent IDETA. The comparison group underwent a conventional rehabilitation program. Outcomes were assessed at 3 months, 12 months and 2 years after treatment. RESULTS: As a group, the comparison patients exhibited no significant improvement in their pain at any time. One was partially relieved, but no patient was completely relieved at either 12 or 24 months. The patients treated with IDETA exhibited significant improvements in their median pain scores, which were sustained at 12 and 24 months. At 24 months, 54% of these patients had achieved at least 50% relief of their pain, no longer used opioids and were at work. Seven patients (20%) were totally free of pain and at work at 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term results of IDETA are stable and enduring. It is not universally successful, but 54% of patients can reduce their pain by half, and one in five patients can expect to achieve complete relief of their pain.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diagnostic blocks: a truth serum for malingering.

Malingering is not a diagnosis. It is a behavior for which there are no established diagnostic criteria. Guidelines have been published according to which malingering might be suspected, but those guidelines do not discriminate between patients who are malingering and ones with genuine sources of chronic pain. In such patients, malingering cannot be proven, but it can be refuted if a genuine source of pain can be established. In patients with no apparent cause of pain, the source of that pain can be established using controlled diagnostic blocks. A positive response to diagnostic blocks demonstrates that the complaint of pain is genuine and, by implication, refutes any contention that the patient is malingering. When positive, diagnostic blocks provide objective data by which disputes based on opinion can be resolved, as to whether a patient is malingering or not. Negative responses do not exclude a genuine complaint of pain, for patients may have a source of pain that is not amenable to testing with diagnostic blocks. Diagnostic blocks have proved particularly useful in the investigation of spinal pain for which the cause is not evident on conventional medical imaging. They can also confirm or refute purported mechanisms of certain clinical features in complex regional pain syndromes.

Diagnosis, Differential↗