A Review of Chronic Pain and Device Interventions: Benefits and Future Directions.

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition with a growing prevalence both in the USA and globally. The complex nature of this condition necessitates a multimodal approach to pain management that extends beyond the established pharmaceutical interventions currently employed. A variety of devices comprising both invasive and noninvasive approaches are available to patients, serving as adjuvants to existing regimens. The benefits of these interventions are notable for their lack of addiction potential, potential for patient autonomy regarding self-administration, minimal to no drug interaction, and overall relative safety. However, there remains a need for further research and more robust clinical trials to assess the true efficacy of these interventions and elucidate if there is an underlying physiological mechanism to their benefit in treating chronic pain or if their effect is predominantly placebo in nature. Regardless, the field of device-based intervention and treatment remains an evolving field with much promise for the future chronic pain management.

Paraduodenal hernias in children: Etiology, treatment, and outcomes of a rare but real cause of bowel obstruction.

INTRODUCTION: Paraduodenal Hernia (PDH) is the most common variant of internal hernia and occurs most often in males during their 4th-6th decades of life. PDH in pediatric age group has rarely been reported in literature with only five cases of age up to 10 years were reported. PDH is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction, which may lead to subsequent strangulation and perforation of the bowel. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We reported a 1.5 year-old male child presented with intestinal obstruction. The patient experienced abdominal pain, vomiting and irritability. Abdominal x-ray showed distal intestinal obstruction which was discovered to be a result of left PDH incidentally during the surgery. In addition, we performed a literature search using PubMed to identify the published cases of PDH. We also compared our case with the characteristics of all reported PDHs in toddlers and children up to 10 years of age in a concise table. DISCUSSION: Despite its congenital origin, PDH has been reported in childhood age group in very rare occasions rendering the accurate incidence of PDH in infancy and childhood unknown. PDHs can be asymptomatic or can present most commonly with recurrent upper abdominal pain. Diagnosis is quite difficult in the absence of symptoms but could be achieved using a computed tomography (CT-scan) in non-emergency symptomatic patients. Surgical repair is mandatory to avoid potential complications. CONCLUSION: As PDH can lead to major and life threatening complications, it must remain in our minds as a possible cause of intestinal obstruction.