Chronic abdominal pain (CAP) is a debilitating condition known for its multifactorial nature. However, outcomes with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for abdominal pain syndromes are noticeably absent in the literature. To date, there have been no published reports of novel waveforms of SCS for the management of CAP. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and durability of BurstDR SCS in reducing abdominal pain and analgesic consumption.
We performed a retrospective review of medical records from three patients with different etiologies of abdominal pain (post-herniorrhaphy pain syndrome, Crohn’s disease, abdominal neuropathy). All patients underwent thoracic laminectomy for BurstDR SCS paddle lead and pulse generator placement and after a successful trial stimulation period. Data was collected with a telephone survey after a minimum duration of > 24 months following implantation. Pain scores were measured using a numeric rating scale (NRS).
Two out of three patients are entirely pain-free and report PGIC scores of 7 after a minimum duration of follow up of >24 months. While the third patient continues to have chronic and well as episodic abdominal pain, he was able to discontinue all narcotic pain medications and has experienced a 33% decrease in frequency and a 60% decrease in the severity of monthly pain exacerbations. He, too, reports satisfaction and a PGIC of 6.
BurstDR SCS is a new programming modality, and long-term follow up is necessary to determine its durability. Despite varying etiologies of abdominal pain, this series suggests BurstDR SCS might be effective as a treatment for abdominal pain syndromes, sustained for greater than two years. Future studies of SCS would benefit from standardized abdominal pain scores and high-powered studies using global patient registries.

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