The Effects of Spinal Cord Stimulation vs. Pharmacotherapy on Neuropathic Lower Back Pain
- Zhang D. ,
- Muench K. ,
- Thomason K. ,
- et al
- Zhang D. ,
- Muench K. ,
- Thomason K. and
- PA -.
2022
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Description
Objective: Neurogenic chronic low back pain, particularly failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) and low back pain with associated limb pain refractory to conventional medical therapy (i.e. physical therapy, pain medication management, reparative back surgery, etc.) is a prevalent problem for patients worldwide. Providers face a daunting challenge in finding lasting, effective pain management for this patient population, with few treatments being definitively effective. The most widely used treatment option for chronic back pain is opioid therapy, although long-term opioid use has been associated with various risks. Therefore, there is a great need for identifying alternative low-risk, minimally invasive, and well-studied therapies that are safe and effective for long-term use. The purpose of this research was to identify the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulator (SCS) therapy in controlling chronic neurogenic back pain compared to the traditional use of opioid pharmacotherapy. Materials and Methods: A systematic search of the literature was performed using 5 databases (Google Scholar, South College Digital Library, Cochrane Library, Journal of Pain, and PubMed) to identify studies reporting clinically significant results for reduction of opioid therapy in patients with intractable back pain or FBSS currently on opioid therapy. Only studies published within the last 10 years with high levels of evidence were considered, which included meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and clinical studies. Specific search terms and phrases were used to obtain only high-quality literature, in addition to the implementation of inclusion and exclusion criteria set by the researchers. Remaining articles underwent multiple degrees of review to ensure pertinence to the research question, including title review, abstract review, and full text review. Quality assessment and data extraction tools were then utilized to increase internal validity and reduce potential bias. Results: Three studies, consisting of 2 systematic reviews and 1 meta-analysis, were included in this research. The included studies demonstrated that, compared to opioids, SCS therapy resulted in consistent improvement in patient pain levels, quality of life, regain of function, and opioid dose reduction. However, not all results were clinically significant due to various reasons, such as lack of data, lack of base measure parameters, heterogeneity of patient populations, limited population size, and inadequate follow-up durations that did not allow for long-term evaluation of SCS therapy. Conclusion: This research supports that SCS is an effective and safe alternative for patients suffering from chronic back pain, as SCS is shown to alleviate pain levels, enhance quality of life, and promote the recovery of function. However, as there is a lack of clinically significant results due to insufficient baseline measurements in available research, more randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are necessary to determine if there is clinical significance. Additionally, this research reveals that SCS therapy has other benefits, such as reducing opioid use in patients with chronic back pain that is refractory to other methods of treatment.
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Record Data:
- Program:
- Physician Assistant Studies
- Location:
- Knoxville
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