Crowned dens syndrome (CDS) is a cause of neck pain characterized by calcium deposition in the periodontoid tissues. Clinical features of the syndrome are acute onset of neck pain and headache with fever. Computed tomographic imaging is necessary for diagnosis. The prognosis of CDS is excellent. Symptoms disappear within several weeks and calcifications may be absorbed. We report a case of CDS with acute onset of severe neck pain, facial pain, and pharyngeal pain provoked by swallowing.
Calcium ; Crowns* ; Deglutition ; Diagnosis ; Facial Pain ; Fever ; Headache ; Neck Pain* ; Neck* ; Odontoid Process ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND: The trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR), which occurs after stimulation of the territory of the trigeminal nerve, is very rarely reported to be caused by stimulation of the mandibular branch. We report a case of TCR in open reduction for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation. CASE: A 74-year-old female presented for TMJ dislocation. During open reduction of TMJ under general anesthesia, severe bradycardia (15 beats/min) occurred. Immediately 0.5 mg atropine was administered intravenously, and the surgical manipulation was stopped. After 30 seconds, heart rate normalized. During surgery, severe bradycardia occurred one more time. It disappeared spontaneously as soon as surgical manipulation was stopped. The surgery was completed uneventfully. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the possibility of profound bradycardia, asystole, or even death when evoked, it is important to be aware of the trigeminocardiac reflex during manipulation of the mandibular divisions, especially during surgical stimulation of the TMJ.
Aged ; Anesthesia, General ; Atropine ; Bradycardia ; Dislocations ; Female ; Heart Arrest ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Reflex, Trigeminocardiac ; Temporomandibular Joint ; Trigeminal Nerve

BACKGROUND: Thoracic interfascial plane block is useful as a component of multimodal analgesia in patients undergoing mastectomy. However, multimodal analgesia tends not to be provided during lumpectomy as it is one of the less aggressive procedures among breast cancer surgeries. Therefore, we investigated the effects of thoracic interfascial plane block as more effective analgesia after breast lumpectomy. METHODS: Forty six patients (20–80 years old, female) with breast cancer scheduled to undergo lumpectomy were randomly assigned to two groups. Postoperative pain control in the control group consisted only of intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). In the block group, intravenous PCA was used after serratus intercostal fascial plane block and pecto-intercostal fascial plane block. The primary outcome was the 24 h cumulative postoperative fentanyl consumption. Pain severity, additional rescue analgesic requirement, side effects, and patient satisfaction were also evaluated. RESULTS: Postoperative fentanyl consumption in the block group was significantly reduced compared with the control group (median, 88.8 [interquartile range, 48.0, 167.6] vs. 155.2 [88.8, 249.2], P = 0.022). The pain score was significantly lower in the block group only in the post-anesthesia care unit (2.9 ± 1.8 vs. 4.3 ± 2.3, P = 0.022). There were no differences in the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting and the requirement for additional analgesics between the groups. The satisfaction score was significantly higher in the block group. CONCLUSIONS: Thoracic interfascial plane block after lumpectomy reduces opioid usage and increases patient satisfaction with postoperative pain control. Thoracic interfascial plane block is useful for multimodal analgesia after lumpectomy.
Analgesia ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; Analgesics ; Analgesics, Opioid ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Fentanyl ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mastectomy ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Nerve Block ; Pain, Postoperative ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis ; Patient Satisfaction ; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Steroid sulfatase (STS) is responsible for the hydrolysis of aryl and alkyl steroid sulfates and has a pivotal role in regulating the formation of biologically active estrogens. STS may be considered a new promising drug target for treating estrogen-mediated carcinogenesis. However, the molecular mechanism of STS expression is not well-known. To investigate whether tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is able to regulate gene transcription of STS, we studied the effect of TNF-alpha on STS expression in PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that TNF-alpha significantly induced the expression of STS mRNA and protein in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Treatment with TNF-alpha resulted in a strong increase in the phosphorylation of Akt on Ser-473 and when cells were treated with phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase inhibitors such as LY294002 or wortmannin, or Akt inhibitor (Akt inhibitor IV), induction of STS mRNA expression by TNF-alpha was significantly prevented. Moreover, activation of Akt1 by expressing the constitutively active form of Akt1 increased STS expression whereas dominant-negative Akt suppressed TNF-alpha-mediated STS induction. We also found that TNF-alpha is able to increase STS mRNA expression in other human cancer cells such as LNCaP, MDA-MB-231, and MCF-7 as well as PC-3 cells. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that PI 3-kinase/Akt activation mediates induction of human STS gene expression by TNF-alpha in human cancer cells.
Blotting, Western ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Male ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/genetics/*metabolism ; Phosphorylation/drug effects ; Prostatic Neoplasms/genetics/*metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics/*metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics/isolation & purification/metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Steryl-Sulfatase/genetics/*metabolism ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/*pharmacology

BACKGROUND: Pediatric patients awakening from general anesthesia may experience emergence delirium (ED), often due to inadequate pain control. Nerve block completely inhibits innervation of the surgical site and is superior to systemic analgesics. This study assessed whether pain control through nerve block relieves ED after general anesthesia. METHODS: Fifty patients aged 2–7 years with humerus condyle fractures were randomly assigned to receive ultrasound guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block (BPB group) or intravenous fentanyl (Opioid group). The primary outcome was score on the pediatric anesthesia emergence delirium (PAED) scale on arrival at the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Secondary outcomes were severity of agitation and pain in the PACU, the incidence of ED, and postoperative administration of rescue analgesics over 24 h. RESULTS: PAED scale was significantly lower in the BPB group at arrival in the PACU (7.2 ± 4.9 vs. 11.6 ± 3.2; mean difference [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 4.4 [2.0–6.8], P < 0.001) and at all other time points. The rate of ED was significantly lower in the BPB group (36% vs. 72%; relative risk [95% CI] = 0.438 [0.219–0.876], P = 0.023). The BPB group also had significantly lower pain scores and requiring rescue analgesics than Opioid group in the PACU. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound guided BPB, which is a good option for postoperative acute phase pain control, also contributes to reducing the severity and incidence of ED.
Analgesics ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Brachial Plexus Block ; Brachial Plexus ; Child ; Delirium ; Dihydroergotamine ; Fentanyl ; Humans ; Humerus ; Incidence ; Nerve Block ; Pain, Postoperative ; Ultrasonography