• Mahindra Chincholkar, Sam Eldabe, Roger Strachan, Morag Brookes, Fay Garner, Raymond Chadwick, Ashish Gulve, and Jill Ness.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK. cmahindra@gmail.com
• Neuromodulation. 2011 Nov 1;14(6):523-8; discussion 528-9.

ObjectiveTo determine patient preferences regarding the duration of trial period.Materials And MethodsForty patients were given a trial of spinal cord stimulation. They were questioned daily if they would like to proceed to a permanent implant. Three consecutive affirmative answers implied a successful trial; three negative replies implied a failed trial. Patients rated daily the pain from the surgery, original pain, satisfaction with the stimulator, and the duration of the use of the stimulator.ResultsThe trial duration varied from 3 to 15 days. Patients with a failed trial took longer to make a decision and also experienced prolonged surgical pain. The majority of patients with a successful trial experienced more than 50% pain reduction. The rate of infection was 7.5%, which has reduced to 2.8% after changing the dressing protocol.ConclusionsIn this study, all patients could make a decision in 15 days, with successful trials requiring a shorter duration. The conversion rate was similar to rates in literature despite patients making a decision without physician input.© 2011 International Neuromodulation Society.

28 keywords...

hide…