Intractable abdominal pain in a patient with spinal cord injury: a case report.
Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) may experience several types of chronic pains. Abdominal pain in patients with SCI has gained limited attention and little is yet known about its characteristics and mechanisms. It often has been regarded as visceral pain associated with constipation and distention. Neuropathic pains localized in the abdomen have rarely been reported. We experience a case of intractable abdominal pain in a patient with SCI, neither of visceral pathology nor of musculoskeletal origin. The nature of pain fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for neuropathic pains. The pain was therefore regarded as neuropathic and managed accordingly. The first- and second-line oral drugs available were being performed, unfortunately, adequate pain control was not achieved. We tried an intrathecal lidocaine injection as another treatment option, and the injection had considerable effects.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hye Kyung
HK
Park
Dae Heon
DH
Song
Young Moon
YM
Kim
Hong Geum
HG
Kim
Soo Yeon
SY
Kim
Myung Eun
ME
Chung
Abdominal pain; Neuropathic pain; Spinal cord injuries