Objectives: The psychosocial factors that may affect the prognosis of patients with low back pain are generally disregarded. The StarT Back Screening Tool can help clinicians to analyze prognostic indicators and the risk associated with outcome by examining physical and psychosocial factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the StarT Back Screening Tool, including cross-cultural adaptation, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity.
Methods: In this study, 120 patients with non-specific low back pain were included. The Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index, Beck Depression Inventory, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, and the StarT Back Screening Tool were administered. One week after the initial testing, the same examiner repeated the tests.
Results: The mean age of the patients who participated in the study was 35.54±12.45 years. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients in the analysis of scale reliability were 0.747 for the overall scale and 0.738 for the psychosocial subscale. The test-retest reliability of StarT Back Screening Tool (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.90-0.93) was found to be excellent. Pearson correlation coefficients for the correlations between the overall StarT Back Screening Tool and the other measures were very good (r=0.678; p<0.001) for the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, good (r=0.473; p<0.001) for the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, good (r=0.541; p<0.001) for the Oswestry Disability Index, and moderate (r=0.336; p<0.001) for the Beck Depression Inventory.
Conclusion: The Turkish version of the StarT Screening Tool for non-specific back pain was determined to be valid and reliable. A good assessment of both physical and psychosocial factors in symptomatic patients can help clinicians make a thorough prognosis.

Objectives: Chronic migraine (CM) is a frequent complication of migraines that has a serious impact on personal and social life and is still underdiagnosed. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors for the progression to CM and to investigate the relationship of these factors to the disease prognosis.
Methods: In all, 115 CM and 377 episodic migraine patients from between February 2015 and December 2017 were enrolled. The age of disease onset, headache duration and frequency, presence of aura and type of aura, clinical properties and location of headache, pain severity, trigger factors, presence of family history, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Allodynia Symptom Checklist (ASC) scores, presence of allodynia, and Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) scores were recorded and the 2 groups were compared statistically. Logistic regression was used to determine the independent risk factors for a conversion to CM.
Results: The mean age of the 492 patients (408 female, 84 male) was 36.03±12.67 years, the disease duration was 10.78±10.36 years, the attack frequency was 10.35±9.06 attacks/month, and the attack duration was 30.10±23.54 hours. There were 115 patients (104 female, 11 male) with CM. Female gender (p=0.015), attack frequency (p<0.001), ASC score (p=0.002), VAS score (p=0.001), and MIDAS score (p<0.001) had greater representation in the CM group. Medication overuse (relative risk [RR]: 0.9) and allodynia (RR: 0.3) were independent risk factors for a transition to CM in the logistic regression analysis (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the present data of a tertiary headache center, it was concluded that CM is a disabling neurological disease with a serious personal and public burden. Special care should be taken among patients with medication overuse and cutaneous allodynia with regard to the possibility of transition to CM.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a piriformis injection on neuropathic pain in patients with piriformis syndrome.
Methods: Thirty patients with unilateral hip and/or leg pain, a positive FAIR test (increased H-reflex latency with Flexion, Adduction and Internal Rotation), and a trigger point at the piriformis muscle were enrolled in this prospective study. All of the patients exhibited neuropathic pain scored according to the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) of ≥4 for at least 6 months. All of the patients received 4 mL of lidocaine 2%+1 mL of betamethazone to the piriformis muscle under the guidance of ultrasound. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), DN4, and the painDETECT (PD) questionnaire were used for outcome assessment.
Results: A statistically significant improvement was seen in all scores (p<0.001) when both first week and first month results were compared with the baseline values. Comparison of the first week results with those of the first month revealed a statistically significant improvement in only the NRS and PD scores (p<0.001). The greatest improvement in all scores was seen in the first week after the injection. A mild increase was seen in all scores at the first month compared to the first week.
Conclusion: A piriformis injection was found to be effective for both somatic and neuropathic pain in piriformis syndrome patients. Long-term follow-up is needed in order to consider this option alongside other treatment alternatives, like botulinum toxin and myofascial release.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate any comorbid psychiatric disorders in patients with chronic pain and to examine the effects of sociodemographic details and the level of somatic sense perception on the severity of these diseases.
Methods: In this study, 51 chronic pain patients were evaluated in a consultation with a psychiatrist. Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, such as age, gender, education level, and marital status were recorded, and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV results were assessed. The patients’ chronic pains were classified as idiopathic or secondary to organic etiology. In addition, the Symptom Checklist-90, Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) were used.
Results: The incidence of psychiatric disorders in chronic pain patients was found to be 74.5%. Somatoform disorders were the most frequently diagnosed, at 37.3%. The rate of depressive and anxiety disorders was, respectively, 29.4% and 23.5%. Comorbid anxiety scores (p=0.019) and SSAS scores (p=0.046) were significantly higher in chronic pain patients with a somatoform disorder. HAM-A scores were found to be significantly higher in patients with depression (p=0.004). A positive and linear relationship was determined between the SSAS score and depression, anxiety, and the severity of mental symptoms.
Conclusion: Structured or semi-structured interviews can be performed in pain polyclinics or psychiatric outpatient clinics to determine the level of perception of somatic sensations. This could be beneficial in the treatment of chronic pain and comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form for patients with chronic nonmalignant pain.
Methods: An analytical design was used. A total of 192 patients were included in the study. A demographic questionnaire and the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form were used to collect data. Content validity was assessed by experts and construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis. Reliability analyses estimated the internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Cronbach’s alpha and the item-total correlations were calculated for the subscales to examine internal consistency.
Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded 2 factors: pain severity and pain interference, which accounted for 68.81% of the total variance. The coefficient alpha of both subscales demonstrated good internal consistency. The item-total correlations of the scale ranged between 0.56 and 0.87. The test-retest reliability was r=0.774 for pain severity and r=0.808 for pain interference (p=0.001).
Conclusion: The Turkish version of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form is a valid and reliable instrument to assess chronic nonmalignant pain.

Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA) is a rare syndrome characterized by a lack of sensitivity to pain due to congenital sensory and autonomic neuropathies, anhidrosis, an inability to regulate body temperature, growth retardation, mental retardation at different levels of severity, and inadvertent self-harm. It is an autosomal recessive disorder that is result of a mutation in the neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase 1 gene, which encodes neurotrophic tyrosine kinase. CIPA patients are frequently admitted to hospitals with unrecognized traumatic fractures and unhealed wounds due to the lack of a pain response. Presently described is the method of anesthetic management used for 2 siblings, aged 17 and 14 years, with a generalized lack of pain, anhidrosis, mental retardation, and septic arthritis. Sedation with midazolam alone provided satisfactory surgical comfort without causing hemodynamic instability in these 2 patients with CIPA syndrome.

Temporal arteritis and trigeminal neuralgia are rare causes of a headache, and the combination is rarer still. The present patient was diagnosed with temporal arteritis at the age of 60 years and presented with trigeminal neuralgia after the sedimentation rate had returned to normal under treatment. The underlying cause of neuralgia in cases of temporal arteritis varies. This report is an examination of the rare association of the 2 conditions and the available literature.

Postoperative opioid administration can cause various side effects, such as drowsiness, respiratory distress, postoperative nausea, and vomiting. The use of non-opioid medications as part of a multimodal analgesia method has been increasingly suggested in the management of acute postsurgical pain. Erector spinae plane block (ESPB), which is a regional anesthesia technique, blocks both visceral and somatic nerve fibers. Though it is infrequently used in young patients, presently described is a series of cases in which ESPB was successfully used in the performance of pediatric laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Ultrasound-guided bilateral ESPB was performed on 4 patients who underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. An injection of 0.25% bupivacaine was administered into the interfascial area on each side in the pre-incisional period after the anesthesia induction (total anesthetic: 2.5 mg/kg). Postoperative pain control was planned at 10 mg/kg intravenous paracetamol every 8 hours. Numeric rating scale pain scores were less than 3 points in the post-anesthetic care unit, and at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours. No rescue analgesic (1 mg/kg tramadol) was needed. None of the typical complications, such as drowsiness or nausea, were observed and no block-related complications were recorded. Bilateral ESPB that is a part of multimodal analgesia regimen can provide effective analgesia for pediatric laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients in the first 24 hours postoperatively.