The Efficacy of BurstDR Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Abdominal Pain: A Clinical Series.
BACKGROUND
Chronic abdominal pain is a debilitating condition known for its multifactorial nature. Outcomes with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for abdominal pain syndromes are noticeably absent in the literature. To date, there have been no published reports of novel waveforms of SCS for management of chronic abdominal pain. We assessed the efficacy and durability of BurstDR SCS in reducing abdominal pain and analgesic consumption.


CASE DESCRIPTION
We performed a retrospective review of medical records from 3 patients with different etiologies of abdominal pain (postherniorrhaphy pain syndrome, Crohn disease, abdominal neuropathy). All patients underwent thoracic laminectomy for BurstDR SCS paddle lead and pulse generator placement after a successful trial stimulation period. Data were collected with a telephone survey after a minimum duration of >24 months following implantation. Pain scores were measured using a numeric rating scale. Two of 3 patients were entirely pain-free and reported Patient Global Impression of Change scores of 7 after a minimum follow-up of >24 months. While the third patient continued to have chronic as well as episodic abdominal pain, he was able to discontinue all narcotic pain medications and experienced a 33% decrease in frequency and 60% decrease in severity of monthly pain exacerbations. He reported satisfaction and a Patient Global Impression of Change of 6.


CONCLUSIONS
BurstDR SCS is a new programming modality, and long-term follow-up is necessary to determine its durability. Despite varying etiologies of abdominal pain, this series suggests BurstDR SCS sustained for >2 years might be effective as a treatment for abdominal pain syndromes. Future studies of SCS would benefit from standardized abdominal pain scores and high-powered studies using global patient registries.
['Richter|Bertram|B|', 'Novik|Yuri|Y|', 'Bergman|Jeffry J|JJ|', 'Tomycz|Nestor D|ND|']
D015746:Abdominal Pain D002908:Chronic Disease D003424:Crohn Disease D004567:Electrodes, Implanted D005260:Female D059685:Herniorrhaphy D006801:Humans D007367:Intercostal Nerves D007796:Laminectomy D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009294:Narcotics D010147:Pain Measurement D010149:Pain, Postoperative D017060:Patient Satisfaction D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases D062187:Spinal Cord Stimulation D016896:Treatment Outcome
Spinal cord stimulation Abdominal pain Postherniorrhaphy pain Crohn disease Burst stimulation Intercostal neuralgia with peripheral neuropathy