Atatürk Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Cerrahi Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi (Aug 2024)
The Effects of Spinal Cord Stimulation on Sleep, Quality of Life and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Chronic Pain
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether spinal cord stimulation (SCS), a neuromodulation technique, causes any changes in sleep, quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms before and after the procedure in patients with chronic pain.Methods: The study was completed with 14 patients who were planned to undergo SCS for treatment-resistant chronic neuropathic pain and who applied to the psychiatry outpatient clinic for pre-treatment consultation. Patients were evaluated twice, before and 1 month after treatment. Patients were evaluated with LANNS Pain Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale (Ham-D), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), Pittzburg Sleep Quality Inventory (PUKI), and Quality of Life Scale Short Form (WHOQOL-Bref). Scale scores before and after the treatment were compared using a two-sample dependent t-test.Results: Depressive disorder was detected in 85.8% of the cases, anxiety disorder in 71.5%, and sleep disorder in 78.6%. The cases’ LANSS pain scale scores were 19.00±5.11 pre-treatment and 7.57±4.59 post-treatment, the difference being statistically significant (P=0.001). Significant differences were observed between pre- and post-test HAM-D, HAM-A, PSQI, quality of life (QoL) general health, QoL physical health, or QoL psychological health scores (P=.002, P=.014, P=.002, P=.002, P=.002, and P=.001, respectively). However, no significant differences were determined between pre- and post-test QoL social relationships or QoL environmental health scores (P=.160 and P=.831, respectively)Conclusion: Our data in this study suggest that SCS not only effectively reduces pain in treatment-resistant chronic pain, but also mediates significant improvements in sleep quality, anxiety and depressive states.
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