ReviewCureus2025
Spinal Cord Stimulation in Pediatric Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Literature Review.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition causing severe pain, sensory disturbances, and functional impairments, disproportionately affecting adolescent females. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has emerged as a promising modality for managing refractory CRPS in pediatric patients, offering sustained pain relief and improved quality of life. This literature review evaluates SCS's efficacy, safety, and functional outcomes in this population, identifies evidence gaps, and provides recommendations for future research. Comprehensive searches were conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Medline, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, including randomized controlled trials, prospective studies, case series, and case reports, focused on pain relief, functional improvement, medication use, and quality of life. Findings indicate SCS significantly reduces pain, such as Visual Analog Scale scores dropping from 9.2 to 2.9; enhances function, including improved school attendance and physical activity; and decreases medication reliance by 50%-60%, including opioids, with benefits sustained over six months to eight years. Complications, such as cerebrospinal fluid leaks and infections, occur in 16.7% of cases, primarily during trial phases. However, small sample sizes of 7-15 patients, retrospective designs, and a lack of randomized controlled trials limit generalizability. Ethical challenges, including informed consent and device maintenance in growing children, further complicate adoption. Future research should prioritize large-scale, multicenter trials with extended follow-up to confirm long-term outcomes, optimize stimulation parameters, and explore cost-effectiveness. SCS's success suggests potential applicability to other pediatric pain syndromes, offering an opioid-sparing alternative that addresses both physical and psychosocial dimensions of CRPS, ultimately enhancing well-being in this vulnerable population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.