Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society
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The treatment failure rate for spinal cord stimulators (SCS) remains unacceptably high, with reports of removal in up to 30% of patients. The purpose of this study is to perform survival and multivariate regression analyses of patients who have undergone SCS explantation in order to identify patient characteristics that may predict treatment failure. ⋯ In a cohort of SCS patients from multiple institutions, this study demonstrates that explantation for noninfectious reasons is more likely in younger patients, tobacco users, and those with certain psychiatric conditions. With an estimated 10% of patients opting to have their devices removed within 5 years of implantation, refining the ability of clinicians to predict who will see benefit from SCS treatment remains necessary.
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Review Meta Analysis
Invasive Electrical Neuromodulation for the Treatment of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Neuromodulation is a treatment option for people suffering from painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) unresponsive to conventional pharmacotherapy. We systematically examined the pain outcomes of patients with PDN receiving any type of invasive neuromodulation for treatment of neuropathic pain. ⋯ Efficacious, lasting and safe surgical pain management options are available to diabetic patients suffering from PDN. Tonic-SCS is the established standard of treatment; however, other SCS paradigms and DRGS are emerging as promising treatments offering comparable pain benefits, but with few cases published to date. Randomized controlled trials are ongoing to assess their relative merits.
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Multicenter Study
Composite Score Is a Better Reflection of Patient Response to Chronic Pain Therapy Compared With Pain Intensity Alone.
The pain Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score became standard when pain was introduced as the fifth vital sign in the 1990s. Although plagued with issues, it remains the basis for primary outcome measures in clinical trials for chronic pain therapies. Multidimensional composite scoring that considers all aspects of the chronic pain experience may provide a more meaningful response measure. Herein we propose a multidimensional responder index. ⋯ Our study suggests that therapeutic response, similar to the chronic pain experience, is multidimensional. Careful consideration should be made to incorporate composite endpoints in future SCS clinical trials.
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The use of spinal cord stimulation for patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is very common. In order to better understand the mechanisms of action of spinal cord stimulation (SCS), our aim was to determine potential changes in relative gene and protein expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients as potential biomarkers of disease outcomes and potential new targets for therapy. ⋯ Previously unknown effects of SCS on levels of PBMCs biomarkers are demonstrated. The findings of our research suggest a potential for useful integration of genome analysis and lymphocyte expression in the daily practice of neurostimulation for pain management and represent a novel road map in the light of the important questions that remain unanswered.