Can the Outcome of Spinal Cord Stimulation in Chronic Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I Patients Be Predicted by Catastrophizing Thoughts?

Abstract

This study showed that the efficacy of SCS in reduction of pain intensity, GPE, and QOL in a well-defined chronic CRPS-I population was not predicted by pain catastrophizing. Therefore, we conclude that a high level of pain catastrophizing in patients with CRPS-I is not a contraindication for SCS treatment.

Recommendations for patient selection in spinal cord stimulation

“…32 Another study of SCS in 32 patients with CRPS demonstrated that catastrophizing thoughts did not predict SCS outcome. 33 In all of these studies the patient numbers are relatively low, thus the authors suggest the efficacy for SCS in CRPS is inconclusive and should be a relative indication for SCS based on potential effectiveness.…”

A Prospective Study of the Intra- and Postoperative Efficacy of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring in Spinal Cord Stimulation

“…After obtaining informed consent, the subjects were asked to complete a battery of self-assessment questionnaires, including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) [22] , McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) [23,24] , Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) [25,26] , Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) [27,28] , and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) [29][30][31] . These outcomes were assessed preoperatively and at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively.…”

Spinal cord stimulation: Subjective pain intensity and presurgical correlates in chronic pain patients

“…11 Although many studies have implicated depression in pain and surgical outcomes, not all studies have substantiated these relationships. [12][13][14][15] Taken together, substantial evidence supports a strong link between pain intensity and socio-demographic and psychological factors. [15][16][17] However, the relationship and direction of these factors with subjective pain intensity in chronic pain populations remain less clear; especially after controlling for socio-demographic and medical factors (e.g.…”

“…While the present study assessed pain intensity at a mean of two months postsurgery, these results have been found even when patients were assessed at longer durations after surgery. 26,28 Because this study relied upon one selfreport measure as the primary outcome measure, caution should be taken in interpreting these findings and results should be considered preliminary. Although the VAS is generally used as an outcome measure in similar studies, Burchiel et al note that sole reliance upon this measure among small samples may influence the broad applicability of prognostic variables.…”