Article
Convenience, usability and complications of rechargeable extracorporeal pulse generators for wireless spinal cord stimulation – a questionnaire-based, patient-centric study
Handhabung, Benutzerfreundlichkeit und Komplikationen von wiederaufladbaren extrakorporalen Neurostimulatoren für die drahtlose Stimulation des Rückenmarks – eine Fragebogen-basierte patientenorientierte Studie
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Authors
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Mohammad Mehdi Hajiabadi
- Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg, Deutschland
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Martin Jakobs
- Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg, Deutschland
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Andreas W. Unterberg
- Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg, Deutschland
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Rezvan Ahmadi
- Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg, Deutschland
| Published: | June 4, 2021 |
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Outline
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Objective: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been utilized for more than 50 years to treat refractory neuropathic pain. Currently, SCS systems with fully implantable pulse generators represent the standard. New wireless extracorporeal SCS (wSCS) devices promise higher levels of comfort and convenience for patients. However, to date there are no studies on how charging and using this wSCS system affects patients and their therapy. This study is the first questionnaire-based survey on this topic focusing on patient experience.
Methods: Standardized questionnaires were sent to all patients with a wSCS device in use at the time of trial. The primary endpoint was the convenience of the charging and wearing process scored on an ordinal scale from “very hard” (1) to “very easy” (5). Secondary endpoints included time needed for charging, the amount of time stimulation was used during the day and complication rates.
Results: Questionnaires of 6 patients were returned and included in the analysis. The average age of the patients was 61.3 ± 6.7 (± SD) years. The length of therapy was 20.3 ± 15.9 months (mean ± SD). The duration of stimulation was 17 ± 5.9 hours (mean ± SD) each day. N=5/6 patients rated the overall convenience as “easy” (4) and evaluated the effort of the charging and wearing of wSCS device process as “low” (4). N=5/6 patients considered the wearing and charging process as an active participation in therapy. None of the patients were concerned about forgetting to charge the device. N=5/6 patients would decide in favor of an extracorporeal device as opposed to the conventional SCS systems again. Early or late surgical complication did not occur.
Conclusion: Overall, patients felt confident using extracorporeal wireless SCS devices without any complications. Effort to maintain therapy with this system was rated as low. The results of this pilot study need to be verified with a larger cohort and a longer follow-up.
