In 2019, the Dutch Healthcare Institute published a consensus report outlining when spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for chronic pain qualifies for reimbursement under Dutch health insurance. It mandates that adult patients with significant pain (VAS ≥50mm or NRS ≥5) undergo an at-home screening trial, which must show at least 50% pain reduction to proceed with permanent implantation. Screening trials give patients early access to the therapy, but they are expensive, often redundant, and pose risks such as infection. A recent UK study (TRIAL-STIM) found no significant difference in outcomes between patients who had screening trials and those who received an all-in-one SCS procedure, but the trial strategy incurred greater costs. Given these findings, and the fact that all-in-one procedures are already used in certain Dutch cases, it is reasonable to evaluate this approach more broadly. Therefore, a pragmatic, multi-centre, randomized non-inferiority trial will compare the effectiveness of the all-in-one procedure, no trial group (NTG) to the standard two-step approach, trial group (TG) in Dutch patients with chronic neuropathic pain.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
180
The all-in-one (NTG) procedure versus the established two-phase closed-loop SCS procedure with at-home screening trials (TG) under everyday clinical practice, that can be used for clinical decision-making and to inform health policy decisions.
Amsterdam UMC
Amsterdam, Netherlands
RECRUITINGChange From Baseline in Pain Intensity on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at 6 Months
Pain intensity will be assessed using the 11-point Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). The primary outcome is the change in NRS score from baseline to 6 months.
Time frame: up to 6 months post lead implant
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