Real-world evidence on spinal cord neuromodulation and pain: Long-term effectiveness analysis in a single-center cohort.

IntroductionChronic pain inflicts damage in multiple spheres of patient's life and remains a challenge for health care providers. Real-world evidence derived from outcome registries represents a key aspect of the ongoing systematic assessment and future development of neurostimulation devices.Research questionThe objective of the present study was to assess the long-term effectiveness of neurostimulation as a treatment for spinal chronic pain.Material and methodsThe patients analyzed in the present study represent a singlecenter cohort of 52 individuals. Primary outcome measures included numeric pain rating scale, Beck depression index II and Oswestry disability index variation from baseline to 36-month visits. Secondary outcomes included its evaluation at 6-month, 12-month and 24-month visits.ResultsA significant improvement in targeted pain, depression and disability values were observed at 36-month follow-up (P ​Discussion and conclusionOur results suggest that spinal cord stimulation is an effective long-term treatment for spinal chronic pain in real-world conditions when applied to a variety of patients and conditions usually seen in routine practice. Nevertheless, some fluctuations may occur during treatment so prolonged follow-up periods should be considered before rendering an unsuccessful therapy diagnosis.