Ann Pain Med | Volume 3, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access

Clinical Effectiveness of Percutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Chronic Back Pain Patients - A Single-Centre Retrospective Analysis

Jozsef Constantin Széles1*, Stefan Kampusch2,3, Van Hoang Le2,3, David Philipp Enajat2, Eugenijus Kaniusas2,3 and Christoph Neumayer1

1Department of General Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
2Institute of Electrodynamics, Microwave and Circuit Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
3SzeleSTIM GmbH, Austria

*Correspondance to: Jozsef Constantin SzĂ©les 

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Abstract

Objectives: Chronic back pain is one of the biggest causes of disability today. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of percutaneous auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (pVNS) for chronic back pain patients in routine clinical practice.
Methods: Data were retrospectively sourced from a clinical database. Mean reduction in average and maximum pain intensity at three weeks as compared to baseline using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain intensity was assessed. A patient responder was defined as having at least 50% improvement in average NRS pain intensity, assessed at 1-, 3- and 6-weeks, as well as 3 months. In addition, analgesic intake, subjective well-being and number and type of Adverse Events (AEs) were reported.
Results: A total of 148 patients underwent pVNS stimulation and met all inclusion criteria. Average NRS pain intensity significantly decreased from 6.36 ± 2.18 at baseline to 3.25 ± 1.83 (p<0.001) at three weeks of treatment. One week into treatment, the responder rate was 32.4%, while reaching a maximum of 58.8% at six weeks of treatment. 60% of patients taking opioid analgesics at baseline were able to decrease or stop their opioid usage. Reported AEs were mild and pVNS was welltolerated.
Discussion: Our results suggest that pVNS may be a safe and effective adjunct treatment for difficult to treat chronic back pain patients. Given the retrospective nature of this study, further research is warranted to confirm these findings.

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Citation:

Széles JC, Kampusch S, Le VH, Enajat DP, Kaniusas E, Neumayer C. Clinical Effectiveness of Percutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Chronic Back Pain Patients - A Single-Centre Retrospective Analysis. Annals Pain Med. 2021;3(1):1009..

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