Correlation Between Aspects of Perceived Patient Loneliness and Spinal Cord Stimulation Outcomes.

Objectives: Loneliness as a whole has been characterized as a health-related risk factor and is associated with worse outcomes after cardiac procedures. Evidence suggests that chronic pain patients are particularly vulnerable to feeling lonely. We examined the relationship between different aspects of loneliness and one-year postoperative outcomes after spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for chronic pain.

Early Experience With New Generation Deep Brain Stimulation Leads in Parkinson's Disease and Essential Tremor Patients.

Background: Newer generation deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems have recently become available in the United States. Data on real-life experience are limited. We present our initial experience incorporating newer generation DBS with Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET) patients.

Use of a Psychological Evaluation Tool as a Predictor of Spinal Cord Stimulation Outcomes.

Introduction: Preoperative work-up for spinal cord stimulation (SCS) includes a psychological assessment; however, no one psychological factor has correlated with poor outcomes across studies. We developed a Psychological Evaluation Tool for Spinal Cord Stimulation Candidacy (PETSCSC), which includes all factors in the literature found to correlate with outcomes. In this study, we examine whether PETSCSC correlates with postoperative outcomes.

Safety of Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients Who Routinely Use Anticoagulants.

Objective: We assess the safety of performing the epidural placement or revision of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in patients whose anticoagulation has been held (termed "anticoagulant-suspended" patients) in accordance with the 2017 Neurostimulation Appropriateness Consensus Committee (NACC) guidelines.

Subjects: Patients undergoing SCS were included in this institutional review board-approved study.

Design: A retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database was performed.