A prospective study of BurstDR™ spinal cord stimulation for non‐operated discogenic low back pain

Abstract

Introduction Chronic discogenic low back pain (CD‐LBP) is caused by degeneration of the disc due to trauma to the annulus or by unprovoked degeneration, resulting in chronic pain. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) employing the BurstDR™ waveform has been shown to be an effective treatment in a variety of chronic pain conditions. The aim of this prospective case study was to determine the effect of BurstDR™ SCS on pain relief, disability, and patient satisfaction in a population with CD‐LBP. Methods Seventeen subjects with CD‐LBP received a SCS trial with BurstDR™ stimulation. Patients with >50% pain relief after a trial period of 2 weeks were permanently implanted (n = 15). Patients then rated LBP and leg pain using the numeric rating scale (NRS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), patient global impression of change (PGIC), EQ‐5D quality of life, and painDETECT for neuropathic pain at baseline following trial, 3, 6, and 12 months after permanent implantation. Results Treatment with BurstDR™ SCS resulted in significant reduction of LBP as the NRS was reduced from 71.7 ± 7.3 at baseline to 42.5 ± 18.1 at 12 months. Average pain relief at 12 months was 42.5%. In patients with leg pain (n = 8), pain was significantly reduced from 66.9 ± 8.2 to 11.7 ± 10.4 at 12 months. PainDETECT scores for neuropathic pain significantly reduced from 18.9 ± 4.8 at baseline, and 14.8 ± 3.2 at 12 months. Baseline ODI score significantly reduced from 41.2 ± 12.8 to 25.8 ± 8.6 at 12 months. PGIC scores remained low from 2.6 ± 1.6 at 3 months, 2.5 ± 1.0 at 6 months, and 2.5 ± 1.3 at 12 months. EQ‐5D‐5L rates remained constant from baseline 56.10 ± 23.9 to 68.6 ± 12.9 at 12 months. Conclusion BurstDR™ SCS resulted in significant reduction of back pain, leg pain, and quality of life in patients with CD‐LBP and decreased the level of disability and generated positive patient satisfaction scores.

Evaluation of Patient’s Quality of Life before and after Implantation of Abbott’s Proclaim™ XR Spinal Cord Stimulator with BurstDR™ Stimulation in Chronic Pain Syndrome

“…Furthermore, a prospective study conducted by Mons MR et al found that the BurstDR™ Spinal Cord Stimulation in non-operated discogenic low back pain disease resulted in a significant reduction in back pain, leg pain, and quality of life in patients, decreasing the level of disability rated in ODI and quality of life, which persisted during the 12 months of the study [23]. It is an important observation that cannot be compared to our group, as we qualified for SCS only the patients who had their spine operated on before.…”

BurstDR™ spinal cord stimulation for non‐operated discogenic low back pain

“…Chronic discogenic low back pain (CD‐LBP) is caused by disk degeneration that can happen as a result of a trauma to the disk. Mons et al 1 conduced an interesting prospective study on the use of Burst DR™ spinal cord stimulation for treating CD‐LBP. Investigators enrolled 17 patients, but only 15 patients had more than 50% improvement with trail and received the permanent implant.…”