Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 10, 2025
Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resource Limited Environment to Establish Brain-Behavior Relationships
Published on: April 20, 2022
Deep Brain Stimulation Battery Exhaustion during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Crisis within a Crisis
Vikram Venkappayya Holla1, Koti Neeraja1, Bharath Kumar Surisetti1
1Department of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Karnataka, India.
Objective:
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and public health measures to control it have resulted in unique challenges in the management of patients with deep brain stimulation (DBS). We report our experience with the management of acute worsening of symptoms due to battery exhaustion in 3 patients with DBS.
Methods:
Patients with DBS for movement disorders who visited the emergency room due to battery exhaustion during the nationwide lockdown from April to May 2020 were included.
Results:
Two patients with subthalamic nucleus-DBS for Parkinson's disease (PD) and one with globus pallidus interna-DBS for generalized dystonia presented with acute worsening of symptoms due to battery exhaustion. Urgent battery replacement was performed in both patients with PD. The patient with generalized dystonia was managed with medication adjustment as he chose to defer battery replacement.
Conclusion:
DBS battery replacement can be an emergency. Decisions regarding DBS battery replacement should be individualized during this COVID-19 pandemic.
More Related Videos
11:26Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Device Development: An Updated Protocol Used at Home in Healthy Subjects and Fibromyalgia Patients
Published on: July 14, 2018
06:32Author Spotlight: Automated Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease - Exploring the Possibilities and Challenges of Home Monitoring
Published on: July 14, 2023