scholarly journals Effectiveness of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients With Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 1;24 (1;1) ◽  
pp. E23-E30
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome ◽  
Leg Pain ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Failed Back Surgery ◽  
Back Surgery

BACKGROUND: Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is the term of persistent back and/or leg pain after lumbar surgery. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (r-TMS) is a technique that allows noninvasive and relatively painless stimulation of cerebral cortex. It can reduce the experience of chronic pain by producing the small electrical currents in the cortex via magnetic field. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of r-TMS treatment on patients with FBSS. STUDY DESIGN: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic of Istanbul Fatih Sultan Mehmet Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. METHODS: In this double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 20 patients (aged 34–65 years) clinically diagnosed as FBSS who had a history of surgery for lumbar disc herniation with persistent back and leg pain were reviewed. Only patients with no root compression and/or spinal stenosis in postoperative magnetic resonance imaging of lumbar spine were included. Patients were randomly assigned to r-TMS (n:10) and sham (n:10) groups. Patients in the r-TMS group received 5 Hz of r-TMS as a 20-minute (1,000 pulses) daily session, 5 days per week, for a total of 10 sessions. r-TMS was applied with MagVenture device (MagPro X100, Denmark, 2009) and figure 8 coil (MMC 140 parabolic, MagVenture). Control group received sham r-TMS with the same protocol. Each patient was evaluated at baseline, days 5 and 10 of treatment, and 1 and 3 months after treatment. Visual Analog Scale (VAS), DN4 (Douleur Neuropathique en 4 Questions), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used for evaluation. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups for age, gender, number of surgeries, pain duration, working status, and drug usage. Significant improvements were achieved in DN4, ODI, BDI, and PSQI scores in the r-TMS group in comparison to the sham group. Both groups displayed improvements in VAS scores, whereas improvement in the sham group was limited to the first month. Achieved improvements in the r-TMS group in terms of VAS, DN4, ODI, BDI, and PSQI scores were sustained at the third month. LIMITATIONS: The limited number of patients and the short follow-up periods are the main limitations of our study. Further placebo-controlled studies with longer follow-up periods and greater number of cases would be beneficial for examining r-TMS application as a new treatment option in patients with FBSS. CONCLUSIONS: r-TMS might be an effective alternative treatment in patients with FBSS, further studies with larger groups are needed. KEY WORDS: Back pain, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, failed back surgery syndrome, chronic back pain

scholarly journals Long-Term Follow-Up of Inpatients with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome Who Received Integrative Korean Medicine Treatment: A Retrospective Analysis and Questionnaire Survey Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1703
Author(s):  
Ju-Hun Park ◽  
Kang-Eah Choi ◽  
Sang-Gyun Kim ◽  
Hui-Yeong Chu ◽  
Sang-Woon Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Analysis ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Leg Pain ◽  
Korean Medicine ◽  
Failed Back Surgery ◽  
Back Surgery

Introduction: this study aimed to investigate the long-term clinical efficacy and satisfaction degree of integrative Korean medicine (KM) treatment for patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Methods: we performed a follow-up questionnaire survey and retrospective analysis of medical records for patients with FBSS who underwent inpatient treatment for ≥ 1 week. The primary evaluation indices were numeric rating scale (NRS) scores for low back pain (LBP) and leg pain at admission and discharge. Sub-evaluation indices included the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D) score. The follow-up questionnaire survey obtained information regarding previous surgeries; reasons for satisfaction/dissatisfaction with surgical and KM treatment; and current status. Results: compared with at admission, there was a significant post-treatment decrease in the NRS scores for LBP and leg pain, as well as the ODI score. Further, there was a significant post-treatment increase in the EQ-5D score. Regarding the patients’ global impression of change for KM treatment administered during admission and at the follow-up questionnaire survey, 101 (95.3%) patients selected “minimally improved” or better. Conclusion: integrative KM treatment could effectively reduce pain, as well as improve function and health-related quality of life, in patients with FBSS.

Spinal Cord Stimulation Electrode Design: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial Comparing Percutaneous with Laminectomy Electrodes: Part II–Clinical Outcomes

Neurosurgery ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 990-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. North ◽  
David H. Kidd ◽  
Loredana Petrucci ◽  
Michael J. Dorsi
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Clinical Results ◽  
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome ◽  
Electrode Placement ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Failed Back Surgery ◽  
Back Surgery

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Spinal cord stimulation, in use for more than 30 years, has evolved into an easily implemented technique involving percutaneous or laminectomy electrode placement. In a randomized comparison of four-contact percutaneous and four-contact insulated laminectomy electrodes placed at the same level in the dorsal, epidural midline, quantitative measures of stimulator performance revealed significant technical advantages for the laminectomy electrodes. Our prospective, randomized, controlled trial compares clinical results in these same patients. METHODS: Impartial third parties followed our series of 24 patients with failed back surgery syndrome to gather clinical outcome data. We defined “success” as at least 50% sustained relief of pain and patient satisfaction with the result of treatment. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 1.9 years, 10 of 12 patients receiving the laminectomy electrode and 5 of 12 patients receiving the percutaneous electrode reported a successful outcome (P < 0.05). Follow-up at a mean of 2.9 years showed that this result was maintained in 5 of 12 patients with the laminectomy electrode and 3 of 12 with the percutaneous electrode (not statistically significant). Many patients reported improvements in most activities of daily living, and loss of function was rare. In addition, 9 patients with laminectomy electrodes and 4 with percutaneous electrodes reducted or eliminated analgesic intake (P < 0.05), and 2 returned to work. No electrode migration was observed. CONCLUSION: Laminectomy electrode placement, although more invasive than percutaneous placement, yields significantly better clinical results in patients with failed back surgery syndrome at mean 1.9 years follow-up. In our small sample, however, the statistical significance of this advantage disappeared at mean 2.9 years follow-up.

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