Craniofacial Peripheral Nerve Stimulation: Analysis of a Single Institution Series

Objective real-world experience with peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is limited. Furthermore, the lack of robust outcome metrics, long-term follow-up and data comparing responders and nonresponders limit the refinement of selection criteria to better identify patients likely to benefit from PNS.

We retrospectively analyzed 22 patients with craniofacial pain treated with PNS, and responders were classified as having ≥50% postoperative improvement in the numeric rating scale (NRS). In a subset of patients (n = 11), detailed prospective outcomes metrics were obtained preoperatively and postoperatively, including NRS, Beck Depression Index (BDI), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ).

About 59.1% (13 of 22) of subjects were classified as responders at a mean follow-up of 37.5 ± 5.27 months. Diagnoses included migraine (n = 6), occipital neuralgia (n = 9), trigeminal neuropathic pain (TNP; n = 6), and central poststroke pain (n = 1). Within the TNP subgroup, responders were more likely to have undergone two or more trigeminal neuralgia procedures prior to PNS (p < 0.05). In the 11 patients with comprehensive preoperative and postoperative outcome data, we noted significant improvement in NRS (p = 0.0005), BDI (p = 0.04), PCS (p = 0.01), as well as components of PCS (helplessness and magnification, p = 0.02) and MPQ (affective, p = 0.02).

The present study adds to the PNS literature by providing long-term data and multiple outcome metrics in a subset of patients. We suggest that BDI, PCS, and MPQ may provide more insight into meaningful response over time. Evaluating functional and quality of life outcomes in patients with craniofacial pain may be more informative than assessing benefit solely based on pain intensity and responder rates.