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Diagnostics
Special Issues
Advances in Pain Medicine: Diagnosis and Management
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Advances in Pain Medicine: Diagnosis and Management

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Diagnosis and Prognosis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 619

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alessandro Dario

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedale di Circolo e Fondazione Macchi di Varesedisabled, Varese, Italy
Interests: pain medicine; neuropathic pain; pain measurement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pain medicine is a rapidly evolving specialty both from a diagnostic and treatment point of view: the introduction of the concept of nociplastic pain has clarified the dominant pain phenotype in particular in low back pain and therefore in focusing on the type of treatment also in cancer pain.

The methods for measuring pain have been perfected and include differentiated scales and assessment tools. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used in pain with different etiologies. The application of artificial intelligence in pain medicine promises an improvement in patient outcomes. Research into the introduction of new conotoxins with fewer side effects and multiple routes of administration offers new treatment possibilities.

Recently, invasive procedures such as neuromodulation are focused on the use of different waveforms that act on different anatomical substrates to broaden the positive results and indications for SCS. Accordingly this Special Issue is dedicated to updates in diagnosis and management of pain medicine. 

Dr. Alessandro Dario
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neuropathic pain
  • fibromialgia
  • low back pain
  • nociplastic pain
  • artificial intelligence in pain medicine
  • evidence-based consensus guidelines
  • pain measuring
  • cancer pain medicine
  • interventional pain medicine
  • topic analgesic for chronic pain
  • SPECT/CT scan

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 1270 KB  
Article
Transarterial Embolization for Refractory Non-Cervical-Origin Interscapular Pain Following Ultrasound-Guided Injection: A Retrospective Feasibility Study
by Yu-Han Huang, Chia-Wei Chang, Jui-Yuan Chen, Chia-Shiang Lin, Chun-Wei Lin, Ping-Sheng Lu, Neng-Yu Chiu and Keng-Wei Liang
Diagnostics 2025, 15(19), 2496; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15192496 - 1 Oct 2025
Viewed by 399
Abstract
Objective: Chronic non-cervical-origin interscapular pain remains challenging to treat when refractory to conservative management and ultrasound-guided injections. This retrospective feasibility study aimed to assess the feasibility, procedural practicality, safety, and preliminary clinical outcomes of transarterial embolization (TAE) as a salvage therapy in [...] Read more.
Objective: Chronic non-cervical-origin interscapular pain remains challenging to treat when refractory to conservative management and ultrasound-guided injections. This retrospective feasibility study aimed to assess the feasibility, procedural practicality, safety, and preliminary clinical outcomes of transarterial embolization (TAE) as a salvage therapy in this patient population. Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 20 patients with chronic interscapular pain (Numeric Rating Scale [NRS] score ≥5 for >3 months) who initially underwent ultrasound-guided injection therapy. Patients who experienced inadequate pain relief after 3 months (n = 10) proceeded to TAE, while the remaining 10 patients with sufficient relief formed the comparison group. TAE primarily targeted the transverse cervical artery using imipenem/cilastatin sodium as the embolic agent. Pain outcomes were assessed using NRS scores at 1, 3, and 6 months post-procedure. The primary outcome was pain reduction (≥50% decrease in NRS score), with secondary outcomes including technical success, medication use, and safety assessment. Results: The mean baseline NRS score for all patients was 6.5 ± 1.4, which decreased to 3.4 ± 2.0 at 1 month and 3.9 ± 2.5 at 3 months post-injection (p < 0.001). In the TAE group, the NRS score decreased from 7.4 ± 1.4 to 5.1 ± 1.1 at 1 month and 6.0 ± 1.4 at 3 months, indicating inadequate pain relief. In contrast, the injection-only group showed significant improvement, with NRS scores decreasing from 5.6 ± 0.5 to 1.6 ± 0.5 at 1 month and 1.7 ± 0.7 at 3 months (p < 0.001). The reduction in NRS scores was significantly less in the TAE group compared with the injection-only group (−2.2 vs. −4.0 and −28.7% vs. −71.4% at 1 month; −1.4 vs. −3.9 and −18.2% vs. −69.7% at 3 months; all p ≤ 0.001). Following TAE, the mean NRS score further decreased to 2.1 ± 0.7, 2.0 ± 1.1, and 1.9 ± 1.2 at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively (p < 0.001), with clinical success rates of 90%, 100%, and 90% at these respective time points. At the final follow-up, the percentage of NRS score reduction was comparable between the TAE and injection-only groups (−74.8% vs. −69.7%, p = 0.397). No severe or life-threatening adverse events were observed; only self-limited adverse events were reported. Conclusions: In this retrospective feasibility study, TAE appeared safe and effective as a salvage therapy for patients with refractory non-cervical-origin interscapular pain unresponsive to injection therapy. Further prospective, randomized studies are needed to validate these findings, refine patient selection criteria, and optimize treatment outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pain Medicine: Diagnosis and Management)
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