Post-inflammatory or post-operative fistula formation is a troublesome complication. As these fistulae are not amenable to closure, surgical excision is usually indicated afterwards. In order to close these fistulae, Juzen-taiho-to was administered to nine children. The location of these fistulae were: cervical region in 1 patient, abdominal wall in 4 patients and external genitalia (perineum) in 4 patients. The fistulae located in the cervical and abdominal regions closed within three weeks of administration, and those located in the external genitalia within six months, including anal fistula. These results suggest the applicability of Juzen-taiho-to for fistula closure.

Hypersplenism is an intolerable postoperative complication of biliary atresia. Partial splenic embolizatoin (PSE) is usually performed on patients with severe hypersplenism. However, the results of this procedure are not uniform, and repeated embolization is sometimes needed. Furthermore, the procedure is unavailable or unacceptable for some patients. There are no adequate drugs for this condition. The authors administered Kamikihi-to, Hochuekki-to, and Ninjinyoei-to for five patients with hypersplenism. The results of this study suggest that these Kampo formulas can stop further deterioration of this condition. Sairei-to was also used for two patients after PSE. Sairei-to was useful for support of the post PSE condition.

Shiun-ko has proved to be effcctive in burns and hemorrhoids. However, it is not frequently used in children because it has a disagreeable smell, stains clothes, and is indicated only for dry lesions. This formulation, however, has several advantages including its bactericidal activity and its inhibition of cicatrization without forming keloids. We therefore used Shiun-ko in children with vulvar hemangioma or burns. Although the lesions were wet, they dried quickly and healed without keloid for-mation. This formulation appears to be applicable even to wet wounds if it is kneaded and stretched when applied.

STUDY DESIGN: Case series. PURPOSE: To determine the utility of "PainVision" apparatus for the assessment of low back pain. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: A newly developed device, the PainVision PS-2100 (Nipro, Osaka, Japan), has been used to assess the perception of pain in a quantitative manner. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of PainVision for the assessment of low back pain. METHODS: We assessed 89 patients with low back pain. The numeric rating scale (NRS) score, McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) score and the degree of pain calculated by PainVision were measured twice at 4-week intervals in each patient. An electrode was patched on the forearm surface of the patients and the degree of pain was automatically calculated (degree of pain=100x[current producing pain comparable with low back pain-current at perception threshold/current at perception threshold]). Correlations between NRS and MPQ scores and the degree of pain were determined using Spearman's rank correlation test. RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between the NRS and MPQ scores at each time point (rs =0.60, p<0.0001). The degree of pain also showed a moderate correlation with NRS and MPQ scores at each time point (rs =0.40, p<0.03). The change in the degree of pain over 4 weeks showed a moderate correlation with changes in the NRS and MPQ scores (rs =0.40, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: PainVision as self-reported questionnaires is a useful tool to assess low back pain.
Electrodes ; Forearm ; Humans ; Low Back Pain* ; Pain Measurement ; Surveys and Questionnaires