Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39589685›Full record

ArticlePain and therapy2025

Cost Savings in Chronic Pain Patients Initiating Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) with a 60-Day PNS Treatment.

David M Dickerson, Hemant Kalia, Kevin E Vorenkamp, Konstantin V Slavin, Jonathan M Hagedorn, Candace Gunnarsson, Eric L Keuffel, Andrew J Epstein, Mark Stultz, Nathan D Crosby

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pain and therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. 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

10 authors.

David M DickersonDepartment of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Endeavor Health, Evanston, IL, USA.
Hemant KaliaCenter for Research and Innovation in Spine and Pain (C.R.I.S.P), Rochester, NY, USA.
Kevin E VorenkampDepartment of Anesthesiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Konstantin V SlavinDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jonathan M HagedornDepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Candace GunnarssonGunnarsson Consulting, Jupiter, FL, USA.
Eric L KeuffelHealth Finance and Access Initiative, 40 E Montgomery Ave, Ardmore, PA, 19003, USA. ekeuffel@hfaai.net.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5350-2272
Andrew J EpsteinMedicus Economics, Boston, MA, USA.
Mark StultzSPR Therapeutics, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Nathan D CrosbySPR Therapeutics, Cleveland, OH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6181-0806

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis study evaluates the financial impact on healthcare payers when chronic pain patients initiate peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) with a 60-day percutaneous PNS (60-Day PNS) treatment versus a conventional brief PNS trial (PNS-BT) with possible follow-on of a permanently implanted PNS system (PNS-PI).

methodsCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fee-for-service (FFS) data were analyzed to identify patients with at least 12 months of follow-up (median 26.4 months) who initiated PNS treatment with: (1) 60-Day PNS or (2) PNS-BT. An economic decision tree model assessed the cost to payers in each cohort. Clinical response to 60-Day PNS was estimated by retrospectively reviewing anonymized outcomes from a national real-world database, focusing on patients ≥ 65 years of age who were implanted with a 60-day percutaneous PNS system. For the economic model, a Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations was used to generate 95% confidence intervals, considering variability in treatment outcome probability and costs.

resultsBased on CMS data, among 60-Day PNS patients, 18% (229/1265) proceeded to a permanently implanted PNS system with a 4% explant rate (10/229). Among PNS-BT patients, 41% (1140/2811) received a permanent implant with a 7% rate of explant (77/1140). Estimated PNS-related weighted average costs for the 60-Day PNS cohort [US$17,344; 95% confidence interval (CI): $16,168-$18,527] were lower than the PNS-BT cohort ($24,392; 95% CI $22,865-$25,941) when considering the percent of patients who advanced to a permanently implanted PNS system. The total cost per successful outcome also favored 60-Day PNS ($25,228 per success for the 60-Day PNS cohort vs. $64,502 per success for the PNS-BT cohort) as a first-line approach in PNS treatment.

conclusionsThe findings suggest that, when PNS for chronic pain is warranted, initiating PNS with a 60-day treatment is more cost-effective than utilizing a brief conventional trial.

Indexed as

60-day PNSChronic painHealth care costsHealth economicsNeuromodulationOutcomes researchPercutaneous PNSPeripheral nerve stimulation (PNS)

Identifiers

PMID39589685
PMCPMC11751244

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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.