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In search of the true sentinel node by different injection techniques in breast cancer patients.

AIMS: To evaluate two different injection techniques (peri-tumourally and intradermally) used in search for the sentinel node(s) in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Ninety-nine patients were peri-tumourally injected with 2 ml 60 MBq 99m-Tc-Nanocoll and underwent lymphoscintigraphy about 18 h later to detect focal accumulations. Next, they were injected intradermally with 0.2 ml 15 MBq 99m-Tc-Nanocoll either in the skin overlying the tumour or para-areolarly in the quadrant of the tumour. Dynamic and static images were taken to visualize the (intradermal) lymphatic spread and accumulations. Special attention was paid to match or mismatch of hot spots visualized by both techniques. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients had positive peri-tumoural and/or intradermal accumulations which could be compared. In 30 patients only peri-tumoural, and in nine only intradermal, identification was successful. Of the remaining 55 patients, in 52 there was complete concordance of the axillary hot spots. However, there was a so-called < > in nine of these patients concerning the internal mammary nodes. In the three remaining patients there was a sequential mismatch in the axilla: before draining lymph to the peri-tumourally visualized hot spot, an interposed node was encountered first after the intradermal injection technique. CONCLUSIONS: Intradermal injection is complementary to peri-tumoural injection for visualization of focal accumulations in patients with breast cancer. The two different injection techniques have a small number of sequential mismatches for hot spots in the axillary region. This means that it may be unclear which separate route leads to the true sentinel node. Internal mammary nodes visualized after peri-tumoural injection are not visualized by the intradermal technique. Para-areolar intradermal injection of Nanocoll for detection of sentinel nodes in patients with breast cancer needs further evaluation, because it seems to be a more practical procedure.

Adult↗

The effect of epidural saline injection on analgesic level during combined spinal and epidural anesthesia assessed clinically and myelographically.

UNLABELLED: An epidural injection of physiological saline solution after spinal anesthesia may produce a higher level of analgesia than spinal anesthesia alone because of a volume effect. The purpose of this study was to clarify the volume effect caused by epidural injection of saline after spinal anesthesia. Twenty patients undergoing combined spinal and epidural anesthesia for elective surgery whose analgesic levels did not reach the surgical regions 10 min after spinal anesthesia at the L4-5 interspace were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group (n = 10) received no epidural saline injection. The saline group (n = 10) received 10 mL of saline through an epidural catheter at the L2-3 or L3-4 interspace 10 min after spinal anesthesia. In the saline group, the levels of analgesia 15 and 20 min after spinal anesthesia were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Next, we examined the volume effect of epidural injection of saline with myelography using two adult volunteers. In both volunteers, the upper level of the contrast medium, which was injected in the lumbar subarachnoid space, began to increase concurrently with lumbar epidural injection of saline, reaching from L3 to L1 and from L2 to T12. The diameter of the subarachnoid space diminished to less than 25% after injection of saline. We conclude that lumbar epidural injection of saline increases the analgesic level 10 min after spinal anesthesia, probably because of a volume effect. IMPLICATIONS: In this study, using surgical patients and volunteers, we determined that a lumbar epidural injection of physiological saline solution 10 min after spinal anesthesia produces a higher analgesic level than spinal anesthesia alone because of a volume effect.

Adult↗

Injectable soft-tissue fillers: clinical overview.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Know the composition and biology of injectable fillers. 2. Understand the advantages and disadvantages of each injectable filler. 3. Understand the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory status of each type of injectable filler, including their indications. BACKGROUND: The use of injectable filling agents for soft-tissue facial defects has a long history of successful use based on xenogeneic collagen materials. New materials of differing compositions for injection treatments either are now available or will soon be available for clinical use. METHODS: A review of the medical literature was performed to provide chemical compositions, methods of preparation, biological behavior, and clinical outcomes for every known injectable filler material that is either currently used or being evaluated in clinical trials. RESULTS: Hyaluronic acid-based materials have now replaced animal or human-derived collagen as the standard injection materials. Synthetic alternatives offer the potential of longer lasting results, but the long-term outcome with their use in large numbers of patients is not yet known. CONCLUSIONS: As there is no single injectable filler that has all of the desired characteristics, understanding the advantages and disadvantages of one filler over another is extremely helpful in guiding the patient to an informed decision. Although all of the reviewed injectable fillers are safe, the concepts of their long-term volume persistence and how they compare with each other remain largely anecdotal, with few prospective controlled clinical trials.

Biocompatible Materials↗

Areolar-cutaneous "junction" injections to augment sentinel node count activity.

PURPOSE: The authors report on a modified lymphoscintigraphy protocol for increasing activity in the sentinel node (SN) through a specific technique (LymphoBoost). It consists of an areolar-cutaneous "junction" injection, using a very shallow, high-volume, high-specific-activity injection of 100% filtered Tc-99m sulfur colloid, as an adjunct to their standard protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Results from a previously optimized protocol (group 1, n = 28) were compared with those from their new protocol (group 2, n = 85), which consisted of two sets of consecutively applied (within 12 to 20 minutes) injections: group 2A composed of perilesional and intradermal injections (similar to the previous group 1) followed by group 2B LymphoBoost injections within 12 to 20 minutes in the same patients. Regions of interest were drawn around the SN and the injection sites (IS) at the end of the studies to calculate the end-of-study SN:IS ratio for both group 1 and group 2 studies. The SN:IS ratio is generally independent of dose and is a measurement of the "efficiency" of getting activity from the IS to the SN. RESULTS: The mean SN:IS ratio in group 2 was 3.34 times greater than that in group 1 studies (P < 0.0005). The median SN:IS ratio was 3.53 times greater in the group 2 studies. Many cases showed a dramatic increase in SN counts before the LymphoBoost injection was even completed, with more than 5% of injected activity reaching nodes at the end of the study in some patients. Multiple different lymphatic pathways were noted, but all led to the same node(s). No significant disagreement between group 2A and group 2B results was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Areolar-cutaneous junction injections, performed under these conditions, augment SN activity dramatically in most patients. Hotter nodes provide several benefits, especially when next-day surgery is contemplated, and should also reduce the extent of dissection needed to remove the sentinel node.

Breast↗

Cardiovascular effects of hypertonic sodium chloride solutions when injected into the liquor space of anaesthetized cats.

1 In cats anaesthetized with chloralose, hyper- and hypotonic solutions were injected into the cisterna magna (in 0.5 ml) or into a lateral cerebral ventricle (in 0.2 to 0.3 ml), with aqueduct cannulated to prevent the injected solution from entering the subarachnoid space, and the effects on blood pressure and heart rate were examined. 2 Cisternal injections of hyper- and hypotonic solutions of NaCl (0.51 M and 0.05 M), glucose (1.03 M and 0.10 M), or sucrose (1.02 M and 0.10 M), as well as distilled water produced a rise in arterial blood pressure with tachycardias. Isotonic solutions of NaCl, glucose or sucrose were ineffective. 3 Ventricular injections of the hypertonic NaCl solution, also produced a pressor response with tachycardia effects when injected in this way. 4 The pressor responses and the tachycardias occurred after bilateral vagotomy and resulted from a sympathetic discharge which, on cisternal injection, originated from structures reached from the subarachnoid space, and on ventricular injection, from structures in the ventricular walls, probably in the hypothalamus. 5 The stimuli responsible for the discharge, were, on cisternal injection, the changes in osmolarity and on ventricular injection, the sodium ions.

Anesthesia↗

Treatment of iatrogenic femoral arterial pseudoaneurysms: comparison of US-guided thrombin injection with compression repair.

PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare the treatment of iatrogenic femoral arterial pseudoaneurysms by using ultrasonographically (US) guided direct thrombin injection with US-guided compression repair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-six patients with iatrogenic femoral arterial pseudoaneurysms were treated with direct thrombin injection. With US guidance, a 22-gauge needle was placed into the pseudoaneurysm flow lumen and thrombin (mean volume, 0.35 mL; range, 0.10-0.60 mL) was injected with continuous color Doppler US guidance. Demographics, clinical variables, pseudoaneurysm characteristics, and results in these patients were compared with those in 281 consecutive patients who underwent US-guided compression repair. RESULTS: The success rate of thrombin injection was 96% (25 of 26 patients), which was significantly higher than that of compression, 74% (209 of 281 patients) (P =.013). Twenty of 26 (77%) patients required a single injection, and six (23%) required two injections. Mean thrombosis time for thrombin injection was 6 seconds, compared with 41.5 minutes for compression. For thrombin injection, there were no complications, foot pulses did not change and no patients required conscious sedation. Follow-up US at 24 hours showed no recurrent pseudoaneurysms. CONCLUSION: For the treatment of iatrogenic femoral arterial pseudoaneurysms, thrombin injection with US guidance appears to be superior to compression repair.

Aged↗

Fourth ventricle bombesin injection suppresses ingestive behaviors in rats.

Food intake after fourth intracerebroventricular (icv) injections of bombesin (BBS) was measured in intact rats. BBS injections (greater than or equal to 10 ng) reliably suppressed chow intake in 17-h food-deprived rats. Systemic injections of BBS (50 ng) had no effect on food intake. These data indicate that BBS can act directly on caudal brain stem site(s) to inhibit food intake. The behavioral specificity of fourth icv BBS was evaluated by measuring the effects of fourth icv BBS injection on water intake by 17-h water-deprived rats in the presence and absence of food. Fourth icv injections of BBS in doses greater than 10 ng suppressed 30-min and 2-h water intake relative to saline injection when food was available in the home cage. In contrast, when food was not present during the 2-h intake test, fourth icv injections of BBS had no effect on water intake. This suggests that the inhibition of water intake was secondary to the effects of BBS on food intake. Lastly, sucrose (0.1 M) was paired with fourth icv BBS (50 ng), fourth icv saline, and intraperitoneal LiCl (1.5 meq/kg) in three groups of naive rats, and sucrose preference was subsequently measured. Rats that received injections of either saline or BBS preferred sucrose during the 24-h two-bottle test, and their preference ratios were significantly greater than those of the LiCl-injected rats. The role of afferent signals elicited by fourth ventricle BBS administration in the control of food intake is discussed.

Animals↗

Systemic injection of TNF-alpha attenuates fever due to IL-1 beta and LPS in rats.

The effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on the febrile response to interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) was investigated in rats. While both of these substances are capable of causing fever when injected into rats, an earlier study showed that the injection of antiserum against TNF-alpha enhanced endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] fever, suggesting that physiological levels of circulating TNF may act to limit the magnitude of fever. In the present study, the intraperitoneal injection of 1 microgram/kg of TNF-alpha significantly attenuated the fever due to the intraperitoneal injection of 10 micrograms/kg of IL-1 beta. Higher doses of TNF-alpha (10 and 50 micrograms/kg injected ip) slightly lowered the febrile response to this dose of IL-1 beta, but these changes were not significant. None of these doses of TNF-alpha alone significantly altered body temperature. The injection of 1 microgram/kg of TNF-alpha also significantly lowered the febrile response to the intraperitoneal injection of 10 micrograms/kg of LPS. The febrile responses to the preoptic area (POA) or intraperitoneal injection of IL-1 beta were not changed when a nonpyrogenic dose of TNF-alpha was simultaneously injected into the POA. Further studies are needed, however, before we can conclude that TNF does not act in the central nervous system to control the febrile response. These data support the hypothesis that nonpyrogenic levels of TNF act in the systemic circulation to suppress the development of fever.

Animals↗

Absence of brain parenchymal damage following intravascular injection of polytetrafluoroethylene paste.

OBJECTIVE: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) paste has been used for over 30 years to treat urinary incontinence and for 14 years to treat vesicoureteral reflux with little reported morbidity. Some investigators have been concerned by the use of PTFE as the implanted substance, because migration of PTFE particles from the site of injection in the periurethral and periureteral regions to the lungs and brain has been reported in animal studies. We injected PTFE paste intravascularly in dogs in order to investigate its effect on brain parenchyma. METHODS: A total of 12 mongrel dogs, weighing 11.5-17.5 kg, were divided into four groups. Group 1 (n = 3): injection of 0.5 ml of PTFE paste suspended in 50 ml of saline into a peripheral vein once a week for 4 weeks. Group 2 (n = 3): injection of 50 ml of saline into a peripheral vein once a week for 4 weeks as controls. Group 3 (n = 3): one injection of 0.1 ml of PTFE paste suspended in 20 ml of saline into the right carotid artery. Group 4 (n = 3): one injection of 20 ml of saline into the right carotid artery as controls. After an interval of 6 months, all animals were sacrificed and the lungs and brain removed. Brain from 1 animal in each group was dissolved in sodium hypochlorite solution, the resulting organ suspension was centrifuged, and the smear preparations of the precipitate examined by polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray microanalysis. Brains from 2 animals in each group were fixed in formalin solutions, 6-micrometer sections were cut and stained with haematoxylin and eosin, Cajal stain for Purkinje fibre, and Luxol fast blue stain for myelin, and glial fibrillary acidic protein immunohistochemistry was carried for astrocytes using monoclonal mouse anti-GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) at a dilution of 1:50 with an avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method. RESULTS: PTFE particles were seen in the cerebral vessels in only those animals who had PTFE injected into the right carotid artery. The haematoxylin and eosin staining showed PTFE particles in vessels with focal foreign-body reaction, but no infarction. Luxol fast blue staining showed no demyelination around vessels containing the particles and the parenchyma. Cajal staining demonstrated no abnormality of nerve fibres, and there was no astrocytosis using GFAP immunohistochemical staining. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that following intravenous injection, there was no evidence of migration of PTFE to the brain. Small quantities of PTFE injected into the carotid arteries were associated with local foreign-body reaction, but no brain parenchymal tissue damage was found.

Animals↗

[Diuretic effect of injecting furosemide into low hydraulic resistance point Shuifen along the conception meridian in pigs with acute edema].

OBJECTIVE: To observe whether injection of medicine into low hydraulic resistance point along meridian brings about higher medicinal effect and to explore the efficacy of the theory that meridians are made up of channels featuring low hydraulic resistance by observing the diuretic effect of injecting furosemide or saline into the low hydraulic resistance point Shuifen (CV 9), vein and Zusanli (St 36) respectively. METHODS: Acute edema was induced in pigs by rapid intravenous injection of 2 000 ml normal saline. The pigs were divided into four groups: Shuifen (CV 9) injection of half dose furosemide group (SFF group), intravenous injection of full dose furosemide group (VF group), Zusanli (St 36) injection of full dose furosemide group (ZSLF group), and Shuifen (CV 9) injection of half dose normal saline group (SFS group). The accumulated urine quantity and the urine quantity generated in every 15-minute period were measured in each group respectively, every 15 minutes after injection, and the measurement lasted for two hours at one experiment. Each group involved eight times of experiments with one pig used for one experiment, which means the whole observation involved 32 times of experiments. RESULTS: The accumulated urine quantities observed in both SFF group and VF group were higher than those in the ZSLF group and the SFS group all through the measurement, showing significant differences during the period from the 15th minute to the 45th minute (P<0.05). But no significant difference was observed between the SFF group and the VF group during the whole 2-hour measurement (P>0.05). Analysis of urine quantity generated in every 15-minute period showed that diuretic effect climaxed during the 15th minute to the 30th minute in both SFF group and VF group. By contrast, ZSLF group reached diuresis climax during the 45th minute to 60th minute and no diuresis climax was observed in the SFS group all through the measurement. CONCLUSION: Injection of medicine into low hydraulic resistance point along meridian generates faster and more powerful medicinal potency, and this is likely to be applied to clinical practice. The theory that meridians are channels featuring low hydraulic resistance is important to the elucidation of meridians.

Acupuncture Points↗

Concentration change of chemotherapeutic agents in plasma and tissue after intraarterial and intravenous injection.

OBJECTIVE: To study the concentration change of chemotherapeutic agents in plasma and tissue after intraarterial and intravenous injection. METHODS: Ten mature female New Zealand rabbits were divided randomly into two groups. Fluorouracil, etopiside, and cisplatin were injected into the rabbits through the ear vein in one group and through the internal iliac artery in the other group. Blood samples and the uterus tissue specimens were collected at various time points after injection. Drug concentration in plasma and tissue was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The data were analyzed by the pharmacokinetic program 3P97. RESULTS: Regular concentration change of the three drugs in plasma and tissue was observed after the intravenous and intraarterial injection, which met the two - compartment model. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the three drugs after intravenous and intraarterial injection were different. The peak concentration in plasma after intraarterial injection was lower than that after intravenous injection and the peak concentration and area under curve (AUC) value in tissue after intraarterial injections were higher than those after intravenous injection. CONCLUSION: Intraarterial chemotherapy has advantages to intravenous chemotherapy in fluorouracil, etopiside and cisplatin. These advantages depend on the drug pharmacological properties.

Animals↗

Pharmacokinetics of mezlocillin after intraarterial or intravenous injection in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD).

In the first part of this study, which was already published in this journal, tissue- and serum concentrations of Mezlocillin were compared one hour after a single dose of 2 g injected either intraarterially or intravenously in patients with ischemic lesions, due to PAOD or moist diabetic gangrene. In nearly all tissues of the minor perfused metatarsus and in the thigh, estimated as being physiologically perfused, there was an impressive trend to higher concentrations after i.a. injection. The concentrations in the thigh were higher than in the metatarsus after both, i.a. or i.v. injection. In this second part, tissue concentrations are compared three to four hours after the end of i.a. or i.v. injection of the same dose. After this interval of time, there is no longer any striking difference between the tissue concentrations after i.a. compared to i.v. injection within the physiologically perfused thigh, the concentrations in the reduced perfused metatarsus still show a convincing tendency to higher values after i.a. injection. It is concluded, that the initial tissue concentration of an antibiotic depends on its concentration within the inflowing blood and on the amount of the blood perfusion. The decline of the tissue concentration time course is more pronounced after i.a. injection. The advantage of higher concentrations after i.a. injection is limited to the initial phase after the injection.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases↗

Variation with age in the labelling of amoeboid microglial cells in rats following intraperitoneal or intravenous injection of a fluorescent dye.

Amoeboid microglial cells (AMC) in the corpus callosum were selectively labelled following a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of the fluorescent dye, rhodamine isothiocyanate (RhIc) into postnatal rats. The frequency of RhIc-labelled cells varied with age, with the largest number occurring in 7-d-old animals. Thereafter, the labelled cells declined drastically in number and fluorescence and were barely detectable in 12-d-old injected rats. Labelled cells were absent in 13-d or older rats given an RhIc injection. When the injected RhIc was followed over a time course sequence, it was first detected in the cerebral blood vessels and their lining endothelia within 5 min after the injection. A variable number of AMC emitting a weaker fluorescence were closely adherent to the outer walls of the blood vessels. With time, the fluorescence in the AMC was progressively enhanced, but that in the blood vessels showed a concomitant reduction. In the rats that received an intravenous (i.v.) injection of RhIc, the labelling pattern of AMC, both in terms of its variation with age and in temporal sequence, paralleled that in rats given i.p. injections. In 12-d-old rats subjected to a stab wound coupled with an i.p. injection of RhIc, a considerable number of AMC not normally labelled at this age were activated. The cells exhibited an intense fluorescence and expressed MHC surface antigen immunoreactivity. It is concluded from this study that when injected i.p. or i.v., RhIc is readily circulated to the cerebral vessels, where it enters brain tissue by transendothelial transport.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aging↗

Longitudinal effects of Botox injections on voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) for patients with adductory spasmodic dysphonia: part II.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longitudinal effects of botulinum toxin type A (Botox) injections on voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) for patients with adductory spasmodic dysphonia. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Academic tertiary care referral center. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-two patients who presented to our institution with dysphonia and were diagnosed as having adductory spasmodic dysphonia during a 38-month period. INTERVENTION: Patients received Botox injections into both thyroarytenoid muscles via the cricothyroid membrane. The typical starting dose was 1.0 U per vocal fold. If necessary, the dosage was adjusted in subsequent injections to reduce adverse effects or to enhance duration of benefit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients filled out questionnaires, including the V-RQOL Measure and a self-assessed overall voice rating, before each injection. Postinjection questionnaires were completed 6 to 8 weeks after each treatment. Mean pretreatment and posttreatment scores were calculated for each treatment. RESULTS: The number of treatments per patient ranged from 1 to 7. Statistically significant improvements in mean total and domain V-RQOL scores were calculated for every injection (P<.01) (no postinjection questionnaires were available for the seventh injections). The magnitude of the effect remained constant for later injections. Eighty-two percent of the population recorded at least 1 category of improvement in overall self-assessed voice rating with each injection. CONCLUSIONS: Botox has a significant beneficial effect on V-RQOL for at least 6 injection cycles. This study demonstrates the efficacy of Botox for treating patients with adductory spasmodic dysphonia and further illustrates the usefulness and validity of the V-RQOL Measure in evaluating patients with dysphonia.

Adult↗

Genetic immunotherapy by intrapleural, intraperitoneal and subcutaneous injection of IL-2 gene-modified Lewis lung carcinoma cells.

The induction and augmentation of tumor non-specific immunity and of tumor-specific immunity by intrapleural, intraperitoneal and subcutaneous injection of interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene-modified Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells (LLC-IL2) was tested in C57BL/6 mice. Intrapleural injection of LLC cells induced lung tumors with a malignant effusion, intraperitoneal injection induced peritoneal tumors with ascites and subcutaneous injection induced subcutaneous tumors. Intrapleural injection of irradiated LLC-IL2 cured pre-existing lung LLC tumors and extended the survival of the mice but did not affect survival of mice with pre-existing peritoneal tumors nor did it affect the growth of s.c. tumors. Intraperitoneal injection of irradiated LLC-IL2 cured pre-existing LLC peritoneal tumors and extended the survival of the mice but did not affect survival of mice bearing lung tumors nor did it affect the growth of s.c. tumors. Subcutaneous injection of irradiated LLC-IL2 did not affect the growth of preexisting s.c. tumors and also did not improve survival of mice bearing the lung or peritoneal tumors. Injection with irradiated LLC-IL2 by all routes, i.e., intrapleural, intraperitoneal and s.c., protected against subsequent re-challenge with LLC. Eight days after the initial immunization (early stage of immunization), non-adherent mononuclear cells in the peritoneal cavity of the mice treated with intraperitoneal injection of irradiated LLC-IL2 displayed enhanced cytotoxicity against LLC, B16-F10 and P815 cells, while the cytotoxic activity of spleen cells in the same mice did not change. The efficiency of induction of tumor-specific immunity was the strongest after intraperitoneal immunization and weakest after s.c. immunization. In vitro analysis using the spleen cells of mice immunized with irradiated LLC-IL2 suggested that CD8+ T cells play a key role in tumor-specific immunity.

Animals↗

Unilateral intramuscular injections of acidic saline produce a bilateral, long-lasting hyperalgesia.

This study characterizes an animal model of persistent mechanical hyperalgesia induced by repeated intramuscular injections of low pH saline. Saline at pH 4, 5, 6, or 7.2 was injected twice, 2 to 10 days apart, into the gastrocnemius muscle of rats. To quantify hyperalgesia, paw withdrawal latency to radiant heat (heat hyperalgesia) and withdrawal threshold to mechanical stimuli (mechanical hyperalgesia) were measured. Two unilateral injections of low pH saline, 5 days apart, caused a pH-dependent bilateral mechanical, but not heat, hyperalgesia that lasted 30 days. Injections given 2 and 5 days apart produced a significantly greater mechanical hyperalgesia than injections given 10 days apart. Lidocaine injection into the gastrocnemius muscle or unilateral dorsal rhizotomy, 24 h after the second injection (pH 4), had no effect on the contralateral mechanical hyperalgesia. Minimal histopathology was observed in the injected muscle, and changes were similar between groups injected with pH 4 and pH 7.2. Thus, this new model of widespread, chronic muscle-induced pain is unrelated to tissue damage and is not maintained by continued primary afferent input from the site of injury.

Animals↗

Safety and efficacy of long-term intraarticular steroid injections in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of long-term intraarticular (IA) steroid injections for knee pain related to osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind trial, 68 patients with OA of the knee received IA injections of triamcinolone acetonide 40 mg (34 patients) or saline (34 patients) into the study knee every 3 months for up to 2 years. The primary outcome variable was radiologic progression of joint space narrowing of the injected knee after 2 years. Measurements of minimum joint space width were performed by an automated computerized method on standardized fluoroscopically guided radiographs taken with the patient standing and with the knee in a semiflexed position. The clinical efficacy measure of primary interest was the pain subscale from the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA Index (WOMAC). Efficacy measures of secondary interest were the total score on the WOMAC, physician's global assessment, patient's global assessment, patient's assessment of pain, range of motion (ROM) of the affected knee, and 50-foot walking time. Clinical symptoms were assessed just before each injection. RESULTS: At the 1-year and 2-year followup evaluations, no difference was noted between the two treatment groups with respect to loss of joint space over time. The steroid-injected knees showed a trend toward greater symptom improvement, especially at 1 year, for the WOMAC pain subscale, night pain, and ROM values (P = 0.05) compared with the saline-injected knees. Using area under the curve analyses, knee pain and stiffness were significantly improved throughout the 2-year study by repeated injections of triamcinolone acetonide, but not saline (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings support the long-term safety of IA steroid injections for patients with symptomatic knee OA. No deleterious effects of the long-term administration of IA steroids on the anatomical structure of the knee were noted. Moreover, long-term treatment of knee OA with repeated steroid injections appears to be clinically effective for the relief of symptoms of the disease.

Adult↗

Utility of corticosteroid injection for temporomandibular arthritis in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of computed tomography (CT)-guided injection of corticosteroid into the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence of TMJ inflammation. METHODS: Twenty-three children ages 4-16 years with JIA and MRI evidence of TMJ inflammation received CT-guided TMJ injections of corticosteroid (triamcinolone acetonide [n = 16] or triamcinolone hexacetonide [n = 7]). Jaw pain or dysfunction and maximal incisal opening (MIO) distance were assessed before and after injection. Fourteen patients had followup MRI studies of the TMJ 6-12 months after injection. RESULTS: Of the 13 patients with symptoms of jaw pain prior to corticosteroid treatment, 10 (77%) had complete resolution of pain (P < 0.05). Prior to corticosteroid injection, MIO in all 23 patients was below age-matched normal values. After injection, the MIO was improved by at least 0.5 cm in 10 patients (43%) (P = 0.0017). Patients under 6 years of age at the time of injection showed the best response, with a postinjection MIO similar to that in age-matched controls (P = 0.2267). There was involvement of 23 TMJs in the 14 patients who had followup MRI studies; resolution of effusions was observed in 11 (48%) of the TMJs. Other than short-term facial swelling in 2 patients, there were no side effects. CONCLUSION: The majority of children with symptomatic TMJ arthritis improved after intraarticular corticosteroid injection. Approximately half the patients experienced significant improvement in MIO and TMJ effusion. These data suggest that corticosteroid injection may be a useful procedure for the prevention and treatment of morbidities associated with TMJ arthritis in JIA.

Adolescent↗