Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29283468›Full record

ArticleNeuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society2018

Noninvasive Electrical Stimulation for the Treatment of Chronic Ocular Pain and Photophobia.

Eellan Sivanesan, Roy C Levitt, Constantine D Sarantopoulos, Dennis Patin, Anat Galor

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04648085 (Effect of Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation on Subbasal Corneal Nerve Plexus Density and Chronic Ocular Pain in Patients With Dry Eye), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04648085 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Effect of Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation on Subbasal Corneal Nerve Plexus Density and Chronic Ocular Pain in Patients With Dry Eye

TypeinterventionalSponsorInstituto de Oftalmología Fundación Conde de ValencianaRan2021 to 2021Enrolled7ConditionsDry Eye, Neuropathic Pain, Eye PainArmsTrigeminal Nerve Stimulation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. A Scoping Review of Pharmacologic and Nonpharmacologic Interventions to Treat Chronic Ocular Pain.Journal of neuro-ophthalmology : the official journal of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Long-Term Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation as a Treatment for Ocular Pain.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2021
    Article
  13. Alternative therapies for dry eye disease.Current opinion in ophthalmology · 2021
    Review
  14. Comprehensive Review and Update of Burning Eye Syndrome.Journal of patient-centered research and reviews · 2021
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Ocular Surface Pain: A Narrative Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2020
    Review
  18. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for the Long-Term Treatment of Ocular Pain.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2020
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Eellan SivanesanMiami Veterans Administration Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA.
Roy C LevittDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Pain Management, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Constantine D SarantopoulosDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Pain Management, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Dennis PatinDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Pain Management, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Anat GalorMiami Veterans Administration Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs · USUniversity of Miami · USDr. John T. Macdonald Foundation · US

Funding

Shared Equipment ModuleP30EY014801 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI Abigail S Hackam · 2004 to 2026
$12.2M
CA8 Variants: New Mechanisms Underlying Transitions to Persistent Pain SyndromesR01DE022903 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI LEVITT, ROY C., MARTIN, EDEN R. · 2012 to 2016
$2.5M
Dry Eye and MicroenvironmentR01EY026174 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI GALOR, ANAT, KUMAR, NARESH · 2016 to 2020
$1.9M
NEUROPATHIC PAIN: A CRITICAL MISSING PIECE IN DRY EYE?I01CX001089 · VA · MIAMI VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · PI GALOR, ANAT · 2016 to 2019
–
BLRD VA I01 BX004893CSRD VA I01 CX001089Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Clinical Sciences Research EPID-006-15SNEI NIH HHS P30 EY014801NEI NIH HHS R01 EY026174NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE022903NIH Center Core Grant P30EY014801Research to Prevent Blindness Unrestricted Grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introduction"Dry eye" or "keratoconjunctivitis sicca" is a multifactorial disease estimated to have a worldwide prevalence of 5-33%. Conventional therapies targeting the ocular surface with artificial tears, anti-inflammatories, punctal closure, eyelid hygiene, and antibiotics do not provide relief in all patients, especially those with neuropathic-like ocular complaints (wind hyperalgesia and photophobia). We anticipated that ocular transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) would alleviate symptoms of ocular pain, photophobia, and dryness in these latter individuals.

methodsAll individuals who received electrical stimulation between May 10, 2016 and April 6, 2017 for the treatment of chronic ocular pain at the oculofacial pain clinic of the Miami Veterans Administration Hospital were included in this retrospective review. All patients had symptoms of dryness along with other neuropathic-like symptoms (e.g., photophobia) and minimal signs of tear dysfunction. Ocular pain intensity, symptoms of dryness, and light sensitivity were compared pre-treatment and five min post-treatment via a two-tailed paired Student's t-test.

resultsThe use of TENS significantly reduced the mean pain intensity in both the right and left eyes five min after treatment compared to prior to treatment (p < 0.05, paired t-test). The use of TENS significantly decreased light sensitivity in both eyes (p < 0.05). The findings for symptoms of dryness, however, were equivocal with a significant decrease in the left eye but not the right (p < 0.05, paired t-test). DISCUSSION: Our data indicate that TENS may similarly provide analgesia in patients with dry eye symptoms as it does for many other chronic pain conditions. Furthermore, the noted effect on symptoms of photophobia and dryness suggest that all may be linked by similar trigeminal-thalamic-cortical pathways. Prospective studies with electrical stimulation of dry eye are needed to further elucidate its benefit and mechanism of action.

Indexed as

AdultAgedChronic PainEye PainFemaleHumansKeratoconjunctivitis SiccaMaleMiddle AgedPainPain ManagementPhotophobiaRetrospective StudiesTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationDry eyeneuromodulationocular painphotophobiatranscutaneous electrical stimulation

Identifiers

PMID29283468
PMCPMC6023783
OpenAlexW2778629186

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.