Automated Neural Dosing for Fast-Acting Subperception Therapy: Sustained Spinal Cord Stimulation Outcomes from a Multicenter Study
摘要
Therapy habituation is a barrier to sustained success with spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Fast-acting subperception therapy (FAST) is a low-frequency, subperception waveform that can achieve rapid wash-in pain relief via the surround inhibition mechanism. FAST-Autodose is an automated neural dosing schedule designed to provide effective pain relief while potentially reducing habituation and maintaining therapy within an efficient therapeutic window—thus eliminating the need for manual patient adjustments. We assessed the efficacy of FAST-Autodose and provide preliminary long-term outcomes.
MethodsWe conducted a retrospective review of consecutive patients from a multicenter, observational study in the USA who had received SCS and used FAST-Autodose to manage their chronic pain of the low back and/or lower limbs. The numerical rating scale (NRS) evaluated the overall pain intensity until the last follow-up postimplantation.
ResultsData were collected from 73 patients who had used FAST-Autodose for 11.9 ± 6.8 months on average. At the last follow-up visit (average 1.8 ± 1.5 years after implantation), the NRS score for overall pain decreased by 5.1 ± 2.8 points, to a mean of 2.1 ± 2.0 (p < 0.0001) and 69% of patients reported minimal pain (NRS ≤ 2/10). In total, 23 patients had been implanted for more than 3.5 years and had used FAST-Autodose for a mean of 17.7 ± 5.9 months; in these patients, the mean NRS pain score decreased by 6.1 ± 2.0 points to 1.6 ± 1.2 points (p < 0.0001).
ConclusionsFAST-Autodose is a novel, automated, subperception paradigm for SCS. In our study, this program delivered significant and sustained pain relief in patients with chronic low back and/or leg pain who had been implanted with SCS for up to 3.6 years. These preliminary results constitute a promising rationale for larger, prospective studies on the long-term efficacy of FAST-Autodose.
Clinical Trial RegistrationTrial registered at clinicaltrials.gov (ID: NCT01550575).