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Objectives : This study was designed to discover the difference in stimulation effect when the volume and insertion method of mountain ginseng pharmacopuncture was varied. Methods : 48 healthy people were randomly injected with 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 cc of mountain ginseng pharmacopuncture, perpendicularly or transversely at acupoints LI 9 and LI 10 . The subjects noted their level of stimulation on a 100 mm visual analog scale(VAS) immediately after, 3 minutes after, and 5 minutes after the treatment. Results : There was no significant statistical difference in the stimulation strength between perpendicular injection and transverse injection pharmacopuncture. There was significant statistical difference in the stimulation strength when the volume of pharmacopuncture was varied. As the volume of pharmacopuncture increased from 0.1 cc to 0.3 cc, and to 0.5 cc, the stimulation strength increased as well. Conclusions : We found that volume of pharmacopuncture may be a controlling element for mountain ginseng pharmacopuncture. Additional study is needed for pharmacopuncture's stimulation adjusting factors.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), trigeminal neuralgia (TN), and diabetic neuropathy (DN), common causes of neuropathic pain encountered in pain clinics. Methods: We investigated the period prevalence rate of CRPS, PHN, TN, and DN using data from a Korean national electronic database from 2009 to 2013. Results: The prevalence of CRPS decreased slightly throughout the study period, while the prevalence of PHN increased from 2009 to 2013. The prevalence of TN was reduced over the same period. The prevalence of DN increased from 2009 to 2012 but decreased in 2013. All four neuropathic diseases were more prevalent in individuals aged over 70 years. The prevalence of CRPS, PHN, and TN were more common in women than in men, but DN showed no gender difference. Conclusion: While the prevalence of CRPS and TN has decreased in Korea, that of PHN and DN has increased. With the exception of DN, the neuropathic diseases were more prevalent in women. Further studies are necessary to investigate the risk factors and socioeconomic burden for each disease, and national efforts are essential to limit the development of these preventable neuropathic diseases.

Background Pneumocephalus may be responsible for post-craniotomy headache but is easily overlooked in the clinical situation. In the present study, the relationship between the amount of intracranial air and post-craniotomy headache was investigated. Methods A retrospective observational study was performed on 79 patients who underwent minimal invasive craniotomy for unruptured cerebral aneurysms. Those who had undergone previous neurosurgery, neurological deficit before and after surgery were excluded The amount of air in the cranial cavity was measured using brain computed tomography (CT) taken within 6 h after surgery. To measure the degree of pain due to intracranial air, daily and total analgesic administration amount were used as a pain index. Correlation between intracranial air volume and total consumption of analgesic during hospitalization was tested using Spearman rank correlation coefficients. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was used to determine the amount of air associated with increased analgesic consumption over 72 h postoperatively. Results The mean amount of intracranial air was 15.6 ± 9.1 mL. Total administration of parenteral and oral analgesics frequency were 6.5 ± 4.5, 13.2 ± 7.9 respectively. A statically significant correlation was observed between daily and total parenteral analgesic consumption after surgery and the amount of intracranial air at followed-up brain CT postoperatively within 24 h (r = 0.69, p < 0.001), within 48 h (r = 0.68, p < 0.001), and total duration after surgery (r = 0.84, p < 0.001). The optimal cut-off value of 12.14 mL of intracranial air predicts the use of parenteral analgesics over 72 h after surgery. Conclusions Pneumocephalus may be a causative factor for post-craniotomy pain and headache with surgical injuries.