Practice Parameters for the Use of Spinal Cord Stimulation in the Treatment of Chronic Neuropathic Pain
Parameter Adjustment
What adjustment options are available and when and where should adjustment of stimulation parameters take place?
Parameter adjustment requires the assistance of a trained professional and might require specialized equipment. Adjustment takes place during the screening-trial period and after SCS implantation. The goal is to find settings for patients to use as they pursue activities of daily life. The technical goal is to maximize coverage of pain areas with comfortable or tolerable stimulation paresthesia. Minimizing power requirements is an additional goal, to the extent that battery life is important.
The number of possible bipolar contact combinations ranges from 50 on an electrode with four contacts to 6050 on an electrode with eight contacts. The number of possible combinations soars to the millions for electrodes with 16 contacts, which exceeds the number of combinations that can be tested in a timely fashion, even with the aid of computerized adjustment.
The results of computer modeling studies and clinical studies guide the contact configuration strategy, which aims to maximize pain/paresthesia overlap, the range of clinically useful stimulation, and battery life
| Strength of recommendation | Evidence source(s)/rationale |
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A = Recommended or required Valid, useful, or non-negotiable |
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Abstract | Wikistim Entry Khalessi AA, Taylor RS, Brigham D, North RB Automated vs. manual spinal cord stimulator adjustment: A sensitivity analysis of lifetime cost data from a randomized controlled trial. Neuromodulation 11(3):182-186, 2008.
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Abstract | Wikistim Entry