title: A systematic review of the treatment for abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) is a frequently overlooked cause of chronic abdominal pain. We aim to outline the current available literature concerning the treatment of patients diagnosed with ACNES.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases was performed. Seven studies were included; describing trigger point injection (TPI) or anterior neurectomy as stand-alone procedure, TPI followed by anterior neurectomy as stepwise regimen, and nerve stimulation and phenolization. After TPI, 86% of the patients showed successful response, 76% at long-term follow-up. Two other studies report successful treatment in 50% of patients. In the included trial using anterior neurectomy, 73% vs 18% of the patients demonstrate a successful pain response in the neurectomy and sham group, respectively. Two cohort studies showed that 69% and 61% of the neurectomy group reported to be satisfied at 18 months and 32 months follow-up, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is significant pain relief after injections and anterior neurectomy. Awareness of the diagnosis is important. The validity of currently used diagnostic criteria needs to be evaluated in additional studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, St. Antonius Hospital, Koekoekslaan 1, Nieuwegein, 3430VB, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.oor@antoniusziekenhuis.nl.
authors.forename: Jelmer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Oor
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, St. Antonius Hospital, Koekoekslaan 1, Nieuwegein, 3430VB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Çagdas
authors.initials: Ç
authors.lastname: Ünlü
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, St. Antonius Hospital, Koekoekslaan 1, Nieuwegein, 3430VB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hazebroek
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000294:innervation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015552:Injections, Intralesional; D008297:Male; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010636:Phenols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011379:Prognosis; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D010636:Phenols
keywords: ACNES; Abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome; Treatment