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For patients with intractable back or leg pain, implantation of a spinal cord stimulator is an option. This meta-analysis included 12 randomized trials (980 patients) of spinal stimulation (SS) during treatment durations of 6 to 12 months. Results were as follows:
In three studies, SS was compared with medical therapy; these trials involved patients with diabetic neuropathy or failed back surgery and reported proportions of patients with ≥50% pain relief. By this criterion, pain was relieved in half of SS patients and in 6% of medically treated patients — a significant difference.
In three studies, researchers compared older and newer SS technology and used the ≥50% pain relief criterion. Outcomes favored the newer devices, with response rate…