The results of spinal cord stimulation in critical limb ischaemia: A review

Abstract

Objectives: to determine which patients with unreconstructible critical limb ischaemia (CLI) might benefit from spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Methods: literature review. Results: limb salvage in patients with an intermediate transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcpO2) was not significantly higher with SCS (76%) than with conservative therapy (p = 0.08). However, a limb salvage of 88% was achieved with SCS if the difference between the supine and sitting TcpO2 baseline values (ΔTcpO2) was ≥ 15 mmHg. A rise in TcpO2 after trial stimulation of at least 15% resulted in a limb salvage of 77% at 18 months (p<0.01). Conclusion: randomised studies show no benefit of SCS over conservative therapy in patients with non-reconstructible CLI. However, data from experimental and non-randomised studies suggest this may be due to sub-optimal patient selection for SCS. Further trials are needed to identify subgroups who may benefit from SCS.