Articles: pain-management-methods.
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Low back pain is the leading cause of years lost to disability worldwide. Approximately 15% to 45% of chronic low back pain is due to facet joint arthropathy. Currently, no large-scale retrospective studies have investigated long-term clinical predictors of success in individuals receiving radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the medial branches for facet joint arthropathy. ⋯ Our results suggest that patients prescribed opioids, particularly at higher dosages, may find less pain relief 1 year following RFA for facetogenic pain. Additionally, patients with higher pre-procedural VAS pain scores may be more likely to have a positive response at 1 year.
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Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is effective for patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). SCS improves their pain, as well as their functionality and health-related quality of life. Different waveforms for SCS have emerged that show improvement in small prospective studies. Analysis of real-world data shows the clinical implementation and the effect of different waveforms in SCS. ⋯ This study of SCS showed significant long-term improvement in pain, disability, and quality of life in a large dataset of patients with FBSS. Strict selection procedures and a strong opioid policy contributed to the high success rate and low unanticipated explantation rate. There was no difference in pain reduction between tonic and HF10 stimulation. Further investigation is necessary to detect any difference between other waveforms of SCS.
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Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been considered as an alternative therapy to reduce opioid requirements in certain chronic pain disorders. However, information on long-term opioid consumption patterns and their impact on SCS device explantation is lacking. We conducted a retrospective study of 45 patients to characterize long-term patterns of opioid usage after SCS implantation. ⋯ Our results indicate that daily opioid consumption does not decrease in most patients 1-year after SCS implantation. Furthermore, post-operative evaluation beyond 1-year is necessary to assess the efficacy and durability of SCS therapy as well as its impact on opioid requirement. Lastly, rigorous patient selection and pre-operative risk assessment for misuse and dependence are paramount to improving outcome after SCS implantation.