Spinal Cord Stimulation Ameliorates Neuropathic Pain-Related Sleep Disorders: A Case Series

• DOI: 10.1111/ner.12222
• Publication Date: 2014-09-26T13:10:14Z
• Authors: Maiko Obuchi; Masahiko Sumitani; Masahiro Shin; Kazuhiko Ishii; Takamichi Kogure; Satoru Miyauchi; Yoshitsugu Yamada
• Keywords: Sleep

Although sleep disorder is one of the most serious comorbidities of refractory chronic pain, it is usually assessed only from the patients' subjective point of view. Therefore, we aimed to objectively evaluate the sleep efficiency of patients with chronic pain.Using an actigraph, a highly sensitive accelerometer, we assessed the sleep efficiency of six patients with chronic pain before and after the introduction of spinal cord stimulation (SCS).While pain improved in only five out of six patients after SCS, sleep efficiency improved in all cases. Interestingly, in one case, sleep efficiency improved even though pain intensity remained unchanged.With the use of an actigraph, improvements in sleep of patients with chronic pain undergoing SCS were demonstrated. One case showing improvement in sleep despite pain palliation may suggest that SCS might have independently affected the sleep system, although further studies are necessary.