AUTHOR=Mullins Graeme Sampson , Burns Joanna Jane , Schneider Andre Perillier , El Helou Antonios 

TITLE=Spinal Cord Stimulation as an Alternative to Opioid for Axial Neck and Back Pain: A Case Series

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pain Research

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pain-research/articles/10.3389/fpain.2022.847504

DOI=10.3389/fpain.2022.847504

ISSN=2673-561X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Spinal cord stimulation is emerging as a minimally invasive technique for treatment of persistent spinal pain syndrome (PSPS).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We describe a case series of 25 individuals with PSPS who underwent implantation of a spinal cord stimulator device between 2017 and 2021.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>There was a significant reduction in mean visual analog scale pain scores in the immediate postoperative phase, (8.61 vs. 2.3, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). There were twelve patients who consumed pre-operative opioid, and 75% showed reduction of use with a significantly lower average daily dose (66.8 vs. 26.9 meq/D, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). There was a significant reduction in the Oswestry Disability Index during postoperative follow-up visits (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). There were no major perioperative or long-term complications from the procedure in follow-up.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The analysis of this cohort suggests successful long-term treatment of a diverse set of patients with PSPS who underwent spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and had meaningful improvement in quality of life and reduction in opioid consumption.</p></sec>