酒精注射可以成功减轻足部疼痛

声谱仪指导的酒精注射成功率很高并且对Morton神经瘤有很好的耐受，后者是足部疼痛的常见原因，以上结论依据由英国皇家国家整形医院和Kingston医院共同合作完成的最新研究。

Morton神经瘤是神经组织生长所形成的，出现于足部的神经，最常见的位于第三和第四脚趾间，导致足部剧烈的烧灼痛。在此研究中，研究人员评价了一系列酒精注射入损伤处的效果。

“我感觉许多Morton神经瘤患者接受了没有必要的手术，而神经瘤完全可以以一种侵袭性不强的方式治疗。”第一作者David Connell博士说。

此项研究共涉及101名患有Morton神经瘤的病人。每人平均接受4.1次治疗后随访一次，并且对病人接受最后一次治疗平均21.1个月后的影像资料加以分析。

根据研究，这种治疗方法在技术上的成功率为100%。94%的病人症状部分或全部缓解，同时有84%的病人完全没有疼痛。30个病人在接受最后一次酒精治疗6个月后，通过超声检查发现有30%病人神经瘤缩小。

“令人吃惊的是，大多数接受酒精消融的病人，脚趾的神经分布未受到影响，”Connell说，“这意味着这些病人不会因为手术造成神经麻木和感觉的缺失。”

Alcohol Injections for Common Cause of Foot Pain Highly Successful

Newswise — Sonographically-guided alcohol injections has a high success rate and is well tolerated by patients with Morton’s neuroma, a common cause of foot pain, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Kingston Hospital NHS Trust in Middlesex, United Kingdom.
 
Morton’s neuroma is a growth of nerve tissue that occurs in a nerve in your foot, often between your third and fourth toes and usually causes a sharp, burning pain in the ball of your foot. For this study, researchers assessed the efficacy of a series of alcohol injections into the lesion. 

“I felt many patients with Morton’s neuroma were undergoing an operation that was unnecessary and that the neuroma could be successfully treated in a less invasive manner,” said David Connell, MD, lead author of the study. 

The study consisted of 101 patients with Morton’s neuroma. An average of 4.1 treatments per person were administered, and follow-up images were obtained at a mean of 21.1 months after the last treatment. According to the study, there was a technical success rate of 100%. In 94% of the patients, partial or total symptom improvement was reported, with 84% becoming totally pain free. Thirty patients underwent sonography at six months after the last injection and showed a 30% decrease in the size of the neuroma.  “Surprisingly, most patients maintain innervation to the toes despite the alcohol ablation,” said Dr. Connell. “This means that they don’t have the permanent numbness and loss of sensation that accompanies resection of the nerve at surgery,” he said. The full results of this study appear in the June issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, published by the American Roentgen Ray Society.

About ARRS

The American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) was founded in 1900 and is the oldest radiology society in the United States. Its monthly journal, the American Journal of Roentgenology, began publication in 1906 and has Japanese and Chinese editions. Radiologists from all over the world attend the ARRS Annual Meeting to take part in instructional courses, scientific paper presentations, symposia, new issues forums and scientific and commercial exhibits related to the field of radiology. The Society is named after the first Nobel Laureate in Physics, Wilhelm Röentgen, who discovered the X-ray in 1895.