Sam Brusco, Associate Editor11.10.23
Medtronic has released 12-month study results showing its DTM spinal cord stimulation (SCS) programming offers significant, long-term pain relief compared to conventional SCS therapy for chronic back pain patients with degenerative disc disease (DDD), herniated disc (HD), or radicular pain syndrome (RPS) who aren’t candidates for spine surgery.
In the modified intention to treat analysis set (mITT) at 12 months, 91% of patients using DTM SCS programming reported at least 50% back pain reduction compared to 25% of patients treated with conventional SCS. Also at 12 months, 91% of patients using DTM SCS programming reported at least 50% leg pain reduction compared to 35% of patients treated with conventional SCS.
For patients using DTM SCS programming, average back pain reduction was 82% at 12 months, an average 6.4 cm reduction of Visual Analog Scale score.
“These highly encouraging results show that for indicated patients who are not eligible for spine surgery, attainable, sustainable chronic low back and leg pain relief is possible with DTM SCS therapy,” Dr. Ricardo Vallejo, SGX Medical, Bloomington, Ill., and an author of the study, told the press. “Not only do these results show significant pain relief, but also reduced disability and a high degree of overall patient satisfaction. For those of us in the field who are treating these patients with limited options, that is music to the ears.”
The study was conducted across 20 U.S. centers. Patients at six months could cross over from the conventional SCS arm to the DTM SCS arm if they didn’t experience desired results—48% of the patients chose to do so. All patients were implanted with Medtronic’s Intellis spinal cord stimulator.
In the modified intention to treat analysis set (mITT) at 12 months, 91% of patients using DTM SCS programming reported at least 50% back pain reduction compared to 25% of patients treated with conventional SCS. Also at 12 months, 91% of patients using DTM SCS programming reported at least 50% leg pain reduction compared to 35% of patients treated with conventional SCS.
For patients using DTM SCS programming, average back pain reduction was 82% at 12 months, an average 6.4 cm reduction of Visual Analog Scale score.
“These highly encouraging results show that for indicated patients who are not eligible for spine surgery, attainable, sustainable chronic low back and leg pain relief is possible with DTM SCS therapy,” Dr. Ricardo Vallejo, SGX Medical, Bloomington, Ill., and an author of the study, told the press. “Not only do these results show significant pain relief, but also reduced disability and a high degree of overall patient satisfaction. For those of us in the field who are treating these patients with limited options, that is music to the ears.”
The study was conducted across 20 U.S. centers. Patients at six months could cross over from the conventional SCS arm to the DTM SCS arm if they didn’t experience desired results—48% of the patients chose to do so. All patients were implanted with Medtronic’s Intellis spinal cord stimulator.