Newswise — WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 6, 2015) — Winner of the William H. Sweet Young Investigators Award, Frank William Petraglia III, presented his research on the relationship between the efficacy of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) to block pains signals and the amount of time elapsed between diagnosis and implantation.

It has been reported that the long-term therapeutic efficacy of spinal cord stimulation decreases as the delay between the chronic pain diagnosis and the actual SCS implantation occurs. Petraglia’s research set out to determine the actual impact of the pain-to-SCS procedure time by looking at patients’ post-implant health-care use.

Using the Truven Health MarketScan® Database, researchers analyzed patient data claims from April 2008 through March 2013, looking for the first diagnosis of chronic pain and for the date of the permanent SCS implant. The study then considered patient health-care utilization in the year following the implant.

A total of 762 met study criteria, with a median pain-to-procedure time of 1.35. For every one-year increase in time, the odds increased by 33 percent that the patient would be in the highest third of outpatient medical expenditures (with claims ranging from $4,133 up to more than $350,000). Additionally, the odds increased by 39 percent for being in the high opioid prescription group (10-58 prescriptions vs. the low group 0-1). Odds increased by 44 percent and 55 percent, respectively, for being in the high office visits (8-77) or hospital visits (3-28) over the low office visits (0-2) or hospital visits (0) group.

The study concluded that health-care utilization in the first year following the SCS implants showed a very measurable increase with longer delays from pain-to-SCS procedure times, suggesting that SCS should be considered earlier in the care continuum, as there is the potential to reduce the economic health-care burden of patients with chronic pain.

The author block for the study includes the following members: Alexander Kent, PhD; Nirav Dalal, MS, MBA; Edward Karst, MS; Ashwini Sharan, MD, FAANS; Peter Staats, MD, MBA; Shivanand Lad, MD, PhD.

The author reported the following disclosures prior to the 83rd AANS Annual Scientific Meeting: St. Jude Medical, Medtronic and Boston Scientific.

Media Representatives: The 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting press kit includes releases on highlighted scientific research, AANS officers and award winners, Neurosurgery Awareness Week and other relevant information about this year’s program. Those releases will also be posted under the “Media” area on the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting website. If you have interest in a topic related to neurosurgery or would like to interview a neurosurgeon — either onsite or via telephone — during this year’s event, please contact Alice Kelsey, AANS director of marketing and communications, via email at [email protected].

About the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting: Attended by neurosurgeons, neurosurgical residents, medical students, neuroscience nurses, clinical specialists, physician assistants, allied health professionals and other medical professionals, the AANS Annual Scientific Meeting is the largest gathering of neurosurgeons in the nation, with an emphasis on the field’s latest research and technological advances. More than 1,200 scientific abstracts were presented for review at the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting, and the scientific presentations given at this year’s event represent cutting-edge examples of the incredible developments taking place within the field of neurosurgery. Additional information about the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting and the meeting program can be found here.

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 9,000 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. Fellows of the AANS are board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, A.C. Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the spinal column, spinal cord, brain, nervous system and peripheral nerves.

For more information, visit www.AANS.org.

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Meeting Link: AANS Annual Meeting, May-2015