Analysis of Failed Spinal Cord Stimulation Trials in the Treatment of Intractable Chronic Pain

The Efficacy and Safety of Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation as a Treatment for Neuropathic Pain: A Literature Review

“…Liem et al had a successful trial rate of 39/51 (76%), and in the ACCURATE study 61/73 subjects were trialed successfully (84%). The variability in response between patients is also described in SCS and remains largely unexplained. Suboptimal lead placement, unrealistic patient expectations, a subjective dislike of paraesthesia and psychological factors could all contribute to unsuccessful trials in certain individuals.…”

“…Different locations or etiologies of neuropathic pain might be more amenable to DRGS, as is the case with SCS . Liem et al achieved better outcomes in patients with neuropathic foot pain (79.5% decrease in VAS) than patients with back pain (41.9% decrease).…”

Localization of cervical and cervicomedullary stimulation leads for pain treatment using median nerve somatosensory evoked potential collision testing

“…33 Moreover, even if painful areas are adequately covered by stimulation, stimulation-induced paresthesias in regions not involved in the pain syndrome, such as the contralateral face or extremity, may lead to patient discomfort and dissatisfaction with SCS. 13,27 Thus, efforts directed at optimizing initial SCS electrode placement during surgery may reduce the cost and improve the efficacy of this therapy.…”

C2 Subcutaneous Stimulation for Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: A Case Report

“…SCS has been shown to be superior to both conventional medical management and reoperation (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Even though 60% of patients feel they are improved by SCS (12), its major disadvantages are the high rate of complications such as hardware failure (13) and the fact that the stimulation replaces pain by paresthesias, which can be disturbing as well (14).…”