Treatment of Chronic Back and Chest Pain in a Patient with Sickle Cell Disease Using Spinal Cord Stimulation

• Published in: Turkish journal of haematology Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 307 - 308
• Main Authors: Yürük, Damla, Aşık, İbrahim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Turkey Türk Hematoloji Derneği 2018; Galenos Publishing House; Galenos Publishing
• Subjects: Adult; Anemia, Sickle Cell - complications; Angina pectoris; Back Pain - complications; Back Pain - therapy; Chest Pain - complications; Chest Pain - therapy; Chronic Disease - therapy; chronic pain; Control theory; Female; Humans; Letter to the Editor; Pain; Sickle cell disease; Spinal cord; Spinal Cord Stimulation; Tıp; İstanbul; Türkiye; Sickle cell disease; Chronic pain; Spinal cord stimulation; Spinal kord stimülatörü; Kronik ağrı; Orak hücre hastalığı
• ISSN: 1300-7777; 1308-5263
• DOI: 10.4274/tjh.2017.0447

Pain with sickle cell disease can occur in two forms: acute or chronic. Acute pain is often treated with analgesics in emergency services or at home and can intermittently relapse. In the later stages of the disease, chronic pain occurs due to central sensitization. Here we report a patient with sickle cell pain who was treated with a spinal cord stimulator (SCS). Our patient was a 28-year-old female. She was admitted to the hospital due to painful crises and had a history of operations due to vertebral fracture, femoral head osteonecrosis, and pulmonary hypertension. Her back and chest pain was ranked as 9 on a numeric rating scale when she was referred to the pain clinic. Non-enhancing areas involving vertebral bodies at dorsal and lumbar levels, suggestive of infarcts, were shown by magnetic resonance imaging (Figure 1). Pain control could not be achieved medically; all nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids had been unsuccessful. After evaluation by the local pain council of the hospital, the patient underwent implantation of an SCS.