Cochrane Library’s recently published article questioning the clinical benefit of spinal cord stimulation for low back pain has stirred controversy throughout the pain medicine community. In response to these findings, we sat down with neuromodulation specialists & Pain Medicine journal editorial board members, Zachary McCormick, MD, and Nathaniel M. Schuster, MD, to offer our in-depth reaction and analysis of the March 2023 report.

In this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, MBA, and co-host @Mustafa Broachwala, DO, are joined by Zachary McCormick, MD, Chief of Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Utah & Nathaniel M. Schuster, MD, Associate Clinical Director of the Center for Pain Medicine at UC San Diego. We are live in-person at AAPM’s 39th Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to discuss the implications of the Cochrane Library’s spinal cord stimulation review and what it means for providers and patients. Additionally, David Caraway, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Nevro Corp., calls in to give his expert insight on the controversial inclusion and exclusion of certain studies and how this impacts the conclusions of the review. Lastly, we go to Vwaire Orhurhu MD, MPH, author of a widely-read letter to the editor published in JAMA in response to the Hara et al. study, which is critical to the Cochrane Library Review’s conclusions.
Tune in to discover:

• In-depth scientific analysis and reaction to the curious findings, generalizations, and omissions from the review
• How to interpret the Cochrane Library’s recent findings and what they actually might mean for clinical practice.
• What this review means for patient care and the future of SCS in pain medicine

Reference:

Traeger AC, Gilbert SE, Harris IA, Maher CG. Spinal cord stimulation for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD014789. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD014789.pub2. Accessed 29 March 2023.