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Objective:To examine the effect of minimally invasive radiofrequency(RF)thermocoagulation of the posterior medial branch of the spinal nerves on lumbar facet joint(LFJ)pain in the elderly.Methods:Patients over 60 years old with LFJ pain were randomly divided into an RF group and a control group.The primary outcome measures were the numerical rating scale(NRS)for pain assessment and the proportion of patients whose NRS decreased by 2 points or more, while the secondary outcome measures were the lumbar Oswestry dysfunction index(ODI), the proportion of patients whose ODI score decreased by 15 points or more, and the Macnab criteria.Results:Patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into an RF group and a control group, with 135 patients in each group, including 171 women and 99 men.Compared with baseline values, changes in NRS scores in the RF group were significantly different from those in the control group at the 1st, 3rd and 6th months[(-2.3±1.1) vs.(-1.2±1.2), (-2.3±1.1) vs.(-1.2±1.2), (-2.3±1.1) vs.(-1.2±1.2), t=13.204, 16.366, 20.319, all P<0.001], and the proportions of patients whose NRS decreased by ≥2 at the 3rd and 6th months were higher in the RF group than in the control group[61.1%(80/131) vs.26.0%(32/123), 52.9%(64/121) vs.22.5%(25/111), χ2=18.287, 11.844, both P<0.001]. Compared with baseline values, there were also significant differences in ODI score changes between the RF group and the control group at the 1st, 3rd and 6th months[(-15.2±6.7) vs.(-10.1±7.4), (-14.6±6.8) vs.(-8.6±6.2), (-13.6±8.8) vs.(-7.7±9.2), t=5.563, 8.912, 7.721, all P<0.001], and the proportions of ODI reduction ≥15 were higher in the RF group than in the control group at the 3rd and 6th months[45.8%(60/131) vs.34.1%(42/123), 36.4%(44/121) vs.27.0%(30/111), χ2=6.668, 9.825, P=0.024, 0.031]. The proportions of patients achieving outcomes categorized as excellent and effective based on the Macnab criteria were significantly higher in the RF group than in the control group at the 6th month[60.3%(73/121) vs.36.0%(40/111), 81.0%(98/121) vs.54.1%(60/111), χ2=11.787, 8.890, both P<0.001)]. Conclusions:Minimally invasive radiofrequency thermocoagulation in the posterior medial branch of the spinal nerves can effectively reduce pain of the lumbar facet joints and improve movement disorders in the elderly, and the therapeutic effect is good 6 months after the procedure.
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OBJECTIVE： To investigate pharmaceutical care of cancer pain therapy in medical institutions from Beijing area， and to provide reference for improving the quality of pharmaceutical care for cancer pain in medical institutions and formulating cancer pain therapy decision by public health administration departments at different levels. METHODS： Inspection results of standardized diagnosis and treatment for cancer pain were analyzed retrospectively in Beijing Pain Therapy Quality Control and Improvement Center during Feb.-Mar. 2018. Scoring results of pharmaceutical care （20 points） and its 5 sub-items （personnel participation， drug supply， drug management， outpatient prescription comment and inpatient prescription comment， 4 points each item） were analyzed statistically and classified according to hospital level and pharmaceutical care inspection results. RESULTS： A total of 64 hospitals in Beijing participated in the inspection， including 27 tertiary A hospitals （42.19％）， 21 tertiary B hospitals （32.81％）， 16 secondary hospitals or first-level hospitals （25.00％）. Pharmaceutical care in all hospitals met the inspection requirements with qualified rate of 100％. 52 hospitals performed excellently （81.25％）， and 12 hospitals were qualified for pharmaceutical care （18.75％）. Among 5 sub-items of personnel participation， drug supply， drug management， outpatient prescription comment and inpatient prescription comment， the average score of drug supply item was the highest （3.83±0.05）； the lowest was the personnel participation item （2.93±0.13）. The results of pharmaceutical care inspection in tertiary A hospitals （17.80±0.28） and tertiary B hospitals （17.78±0.30） were significantly better than those in secondary hospitals or first-level hospitals（16.16±0.50）（P＜0.01 or P＜0.05）； there was statistical significance only in the score of outpatient prescription comment among 5 sub-items（P＝0.026）. Total scores of the hospitals with excellent pharmaceutical care were significantly higher than those of the hospitals with qualified pharmaceutical care in terms of personnel participation， outpatient prescription comment and inpatient prescription comment （P＜0.01 or P＜0.05）. There was significant difference in the inspection results of pharmaceutical care among the excellent group， the qualified group and the unqualified group classified by the results of personnel participation item （P＜0.01 or P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： The quality of pharmaceutical care for cancer pain therapy in medical institutions from Beijing area has reached the qualified level， but the participation of clinical pharmacists in cancer pain therapy and outpatient prescription comment still need improvement in further. The training of clinical pharmacists and information construction of narcotic drug management should be strengthened so as to improve the overall quality of pharmaceutical care for cancer pain.
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INTRODUCTION: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a type of peripheral neuropathic pain (pNeP), is the most common complication of herpes zoster. The objective of this analysis was to determine the cost-effectiveness of pregabalin compared with gabapentin in pNeP and PHN in China. METHODS: We developed a China-localized 12-week simulation model to determine the cost-effectiveness of pregabalin compared to gabapentin in 1000 patients with pNeP and PHN. We utilized a questionnaire of Chinese key opinion leaders to estimate the pre-treatment distribution of pain scores for pNeP and PHN. Treatment outcomes for pregabalin and gabapentin were acquired from the published literature. RESULTS: Treatment with pregabalin lead to 12-week decreases in pain scores of 0.6 (pNeP) and 0.7 (PHN) when compared to patients receiving gabapentin, at an incremental cost per additional day of mild/no pain of $45. The difference in mean days of no or mild pain, moderate pain, and severe pain was 8.8, -5.7, and -3.1, when comparing pregabalin and gabapentin, respectively. Pregabalin had more mean days with a >30% (7.71 days), 40% (8.97 days), and 50% reduction (9.97 days) in pain when compared with gabapentin. In the pNeP scenario, pregabalin was associated with a lower average pain score compared with gabapentin (3.91 vs. 4.55). The difference in mean days of no or mild pain, moderate pain, and severe pain was 9.39, -5.56, and -3.82, when comparing pregabalin and gabapentin, respectively. Pregabalin had more mean days with a >30% (8.77 days), 40% (9.81 days), and 50% reduction (10.55 days) in pain when compared with gabapentin. CONCLUSION: Pregabalin is an effective treatment for PHN and even for pNeP extensively, but at increased cost. It leads to improved outcomes including lower pain scores and more days with no or mild pain. FUNDING: Pfizer, China.
