BACKGROUND
Patient outcomes and experience during a Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) screening trial can have a significant effect on whether or not to proceed with long-term, permanent implantation of an SCS device for treatment of chronic pain. Enhancing the ability to track and assess patients during this initial trial evaluation offers the potential for improved understanding regarding the suitability of permanent device implantation as well as identification of the particular SCS-based neurostimulative modalities and/or parameters that may provide substantial analgesia in a patient-specific manner.
OBJECTIVE
In this report, we describe a preliminary, real-world assessment of a new, real-time tracking, smart device-based digital application (app) used by patients with chronic pain undergoing trial screening for SCS therapy.
METHODS
This is a real-world, retrospective evaluation of 13,331 patients diagnosed with chronic pain who utilized the new “mySCS” mobile application (Boston Scientific, Valencia, CA) during an SCS screening trial. The app design is HIPAA-compliant and compatible with most commercially available smartphones (e.g., Apple ® iPhone ®, Android ®). The app enables tracking of user-inputted health-related responses (i.e., pain relief, activity level, and/or sleep quality) in addition to personal trial goals and a summary of overall experience during the SCS trial. A de-identified, aggregate analysis of user engagement, user-submitted responses, and overall trial success was conducted.
RESULTS
When provided the opportunity, the percentage of users who engaged with the tracking app for ≥50% of the time during their trial was found to be 64.5%. Among those who used the app, ~58% (n = 7795) entered a trial goal(s). Most patients underwent SCS screening with a trial duration of at least 7-days (n = 7739). Of those patients who undertook a 7-day SCS trial, 62.3% engaged the app for 4-days or more. In addition, among all who submitted descriptive responses using the app, health-related improvements were reported by 78% of patients who reached day 3 of the screening phase assessment and by 83% of those who reached trial completion. A trial success rate of 91% was determined for those who used the app (versus 85% success rate for non-users).
CONCLUSIONS
Data from this initial, real-world examination of a mobile, digital-health-based tracking application (“mySCS” app), as utilized during the SCS screening phase, demonstrates that substantial patient engagement can be achieved while also providing for the acquisition of more real-time and direct from patient outcome measures that may help facilitate improved SCS trial success.
Outcomes of Sympathetic Blocks in the Management of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
