A meta-analysis of the efficacy of laser phototherapy on pain relief.

OBJECTIVE: Laser phototherapy has been widely used to relieve pain for more than 30 years, but its efficacy remains controversial. To ascertain the overall effect of phototherapy on pain, we aggregated the literature and subjected the studies to statistical meta-analysis. METHODS: Relevant original studies were gathered from every available source and coded. Articles that met preestablished inclusion criteria were subjected to statistical meta-analysis, using Cohen's d statistic to determine treatment effect sizes. RESULTS: Fifty-two effect sizes were computed from the 22 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The resulting overall mean effect size was highly significant; d = +0.84 (95% confidence interval = 0.44-1.23). The effect size remained significant even when a high outlying d value was conservatively excluded from the analysis; d = +0.66 (95% confidence interval = 0.46-0.86). The fail-safe number associated with the overall treatment effect, that is, the number of additional studies in which phototherapy has negative or no effect on pain needed to negate the overall large effect size of +0.84, was 348. DISCUSSION: These findings warrant the conclusion that laser phototherapy effectively relieves pain of various etiologies; making it a valuable addition to contemporary pain management armamentarium.

Giant non-functioning adrenocortical carcinoma: A rare childhood tumor.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy, especially in children. The overall incidence is approximately 2 cases per million per year.[1] In children, the incidence is 0.3 cases per million per year, except in southern Brazil where the incidence is 3.4-4.2 cases per million per year.[2] We describe a giant nonfunctioning metastasized ACC in a 6-year-old girl who presented with a history of increasing abdominal girth incidentally noticed by her mother since 1 week. Ultrasound abdomen showed a large right suprarenal tumor with calcifications and necrosis. Empty left renal fossa and compensatory enlarged right kidney were seen. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a large heterogenously enhancing right suprarenal mass with calcification and necrosis with pulmonary metastasis. Histopathology report from the right suprarenal mass revealed an ACC. With a stage IV disease, the patient died after 2 months from diagnosis.

A meta-analysis of the efficacy of phototherapy in tissue repair.

OBJECTIVE: The effect of phototherapy on tissue repair was determined by aggregating the literature and using statistical meta-analysis to analyze pertinent studies published between 2000 and 2007. BACKGROUND DATA: Phototherapy has been used for more than 40 y; however, its efficacy on tissue repair remains contentious. METHOD: Related original studies were gathered from every available source. The papers were then screened and coded; those meeting pre-established inclusion criterion were subjected to meta-analysis, using Cohen's d statistic to determine treatment effect size. RESULTS: Seventy effect sizes were computed from the 23 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The overall mean effect obtained was highly significant, d = +1.94 (95% confidence interval = 0.58-2.50). Further analyses revealed a similarly positive effect of phototherapy on tissue repair in experimental animal studies, d = +2.60, and a small to moderately positive effect in human cases of tissue repair, d = +0.34. The fail-safe number associated with the overall effect was 869; i.e., the number of additional studies in which phototherapy has negative or no effect on wound healing needed to negate the overall large effect size of + 1.94. The corresponding fail-safe numbers for experimental animal and human tissue repair studies were 612 and 64, respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that phototherapy is a highly effective form of treatment for tissue repair, with stronger supporting evidence resulting from experimental animal studies than human studies.

Pulmonary actinomycosis in fine needle aspiration cytology.

Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare bacterial lung disease caused by one of two types of bacteria, Actinomyces or Propioni. Pulmonary actinomycosis in the lung causes lung cavities, lung nodules, and pleural effusion. We report here a case of pulmonary actinomycosis that was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). A 45 year-old male with a history of smoking and alcohol abuse, presented with complaints of cough with hemoptysis, right-sided chest pain, and fever of two months' duration. A chest radiograph and computed tomography (CT) of the thorax showed a right upper lobe mass lesion with hilar lymphadenopathy. CT-guided FNAC revealed colonies of Actinomyces surrounded by polymorphs. The disease is commonly confused with other chronic suppurative lung diseases and malignancy. An early diagnosis by FNAC prevents difficulties in the management of the disease, as well as considerable physiological and physical morbidity, including unwarranted surgery.