Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in deafferentation pain.
Spinal cord stimulation is considered to be ineffective in relieving deafferentation pain. We have retrospectively analyzed the results obtained in a series of 41 patients. Sixteen suffered from pain associated with an incomplete traumatic spinal lesion, 15 from a posttherapeutic neuralgia, and 10 from pain due to root and/or nerve damage. At the end of the test period, 43.7% of the patients with paraplegic pain, (40% of those with peripheral deafferentation pain and 66.6% of the ones with postherapeutic neuralgia), reported satisfactory pain relief and were connected to a chronic stimulation system. At mean follow-up (15 months), only 20% of the patients of the first two groups reported sufficient pain relief. In the postherapeutic group the figure of responders was unchanged. The mean analgesia achieved was 70%. From this analysis we conclude that the results achieved in the postherapeutic pain patients, although positive in only 66% of them, are remarkably stable with time. Therefore, we recommend a percutaneous test trial of SCS in every case of postherapeutic pain resistant to medical treatment.
Meglio
M
M
Instituto di Neurochirurgia, Università Cattolica, Roma, Italy.
Cioni
B
B
Prezioso
A
A
Talamonti
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000344:Afferent Pathways; D000368:Aged; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000628:therapy*