Physicians do not have adequate and homogenous knowledge of the fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria. Approximately half of physicians did not adhere to the criteria. Poor knowledge and adherence to the criteria may increase diagnosis delays and misdiagnoses. Knowledge translation strategies should be implemented to address this problem.

Use of manual palpation for identification of MTrPs is unreliable, and future investigation should focus on integration with more reliable techniques.

The aims of the present study were to compare levels of circulating inflammatory biomarkers and growth factors between patients with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and healthy control participants, and to assess the relationship among inflammatory markers and growth factors in the two groups.Biomarkers levels were assessed in patients (n = 37) with myofascial pain complaints recruited from the hospital emergency department and non-MPS controls (n = 21), recruited via advertisements in the hospital and community.Blood levels of the cytokines, namely, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin-12 (IL-12), and the chemokine, namely, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC), eotaxin, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and macrophage inflammatory proteins-1β (MIP-1β) were significantly higher in patients with MPS than controls. The results of the growth factor analyses revealed significantly higher levels of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in MPS patients versus controls. The pattern of correlation coefficients between cytokines and growth factors differed considerably for MPS patients and controls with far fewer significant positive coefficients observed in the controls. Serum inflammatory and growth factor biomarkers were elevated in MPS patients.Inflammatory biomarkers and growth factor levels may play an important role in the onset and maintenance of MPS and therefore may be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of MPS. Understanding the mechanisms of inflammation in MPS necessitates future research.

Although the newer continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs) provide clinical advantages over the pulsatile pumps, the effects of low pulsatility on inflammation are incompletely understood. The objective of our study was to examine the levels of inflammatory mediators in CF-LVAD recipients compared with both healthy control subjects and heart failure patients who were candidates for CF-LVAD support. Plasma levels of chemokines, cytokines, and inflammatory markers were measured in 18 CF-LVAD recipients and compared with those of 14 healthy control subjects and 14 heart failure patients who were candidates for CF-LVADs. The levels of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor, macrophage inflammatory proteins-1β, and macrophage-derived chemokine were significantly higher in the CF-LVAD group compared with both the heart failure and the healthy control groups, whereas no significant differences were observed between the healthy control subjects and the heart failure groups. Compared with the healthy controls, C-reactive protein, interferon gamma-induced protein-10, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and interleukin-8 levels were significantly higher in both the CF-LVAD and heart failure groups, but no significant differences were observed between the CF-LVAD recipients and the heart failure patients. Inflammatory markers were elevated in CF-LVAD recipients compared with healthy control subjects and the heart failure patients. Further studies should investigate the clinical implications of elevated levels of inflammation in CF-LVAD recipients.

This study demonstrated that quantitative analysis of the echo intensity of US images can provide important information. However, further research is necessary to explore the relationships among sex, age, blob area, count, body mass index, regional anatomy, and extent of training or exercise of the particular muscle.

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Ultrasound-guided injections in pain medicine are a common intervention. They have been used to manage myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in different muscles of the body. The main objectives of this article were to review ultrasound-guided injection techniques used for treating MTrPs. We also summarize the anatomy and sonoanatomy of MTrPs using the upper trapezius muscle as an example.