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The following is a summary of “Retrospective Evaluation of Bipolar Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Nociceptive and Neuropathic Pain: A Pilot Study,” published in the September 2024 issue of Pain by Aman et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating pain and patient-defined functional goal improvement by bipolar peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) in chronic neuropathic and nociceptive pain states.
They analyzed 24 patients with implantation of PNS from January 2018 to December 2022. A total of 29 leads were implanted, with 5 patients having led at 2 different dermatomes; 15 leads were placed for primarily neuropathic pain, and 14 for nociceptive pain. Patients with prolonged-lasting pain than 6 months, documented peri-procedural Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) scores, and at least 60 days of follow-up post-implantation.
The results showed that 89.6% of implants achieved 50% or more significant pain relief at a 6-month follow-up, and 70% achieved it at 12 months. A substantial reduction in NPRS scores was observed when comparing pre-procedure pain scores (Median = 7, n = 29) to 6-month follow-up data (Median = 2, n = 29), P< 0.001 with a large effect size, r = 0.61, 93% of patients reported achievement of personal functional goals. Leads implanted for primary nociceptive pain were 12 of the 14 (86%) and 14 of the 15 (93%) for neuropathic pain achieved ≥ 50% relief at 6 months. At 12 months, 7 leads in each group provided ≥ 50% sustained pain relief. Of the 14 patients with opioids, 6 discontinued them, while 2 reduced their oral morphine milligram equivalents (MME) at the 12-month follow-up.
They concluded the potential clinical application of PNS in both nociceptive and neuropathic pain states.
