Journal of Pain Management & Medicine

Abstract

Discussion of Targeted Drug Delivery Article

David Schultz*, Jonathan M. Hagedorn, Scott Stayner and Caitlin Bakke

Targeted Drug Delivery (TDD) is commonly used for the management of patients with intractable pain. Past studies have proven efficacy in pain relief and reduction in opioid use and cost-effectiveness in long-term pain management. There are few studies investigating satisfaction amongst patients with implanted pain pumps that are managed with targeted intrathecal medications. We published a study in Neuromodulation in April of 2020 describing patient satisfaction with TDD in single medical practice for patients implanted with pain pumps for relief of intractable chronic benign pain. Six hundred and ten active TDD patients were identified, and an anonymous 18-question survey was administered to determine satisfaction with TDD therapy. Four hundred and forty-three patients (74% of the active pump population) completed the survey. Most patients reported improvement in pain, improvement of physical function, improvement in quality of life and reduction in opioid use. Complete discontinuation of oral opioid intake was reported in 38.9% of patients. Most patients had a 40cc reservoir implanted in an upper buttock pocket site and overall, 91% of patients were happy with pump pocket location. We concluded that intrathecal TDD therapy can relieve pain and improve quality of life in patients with intractable pain and offers a reasonable alternative to long-term oral or skin patch opioid management. Patients utilizing TDD therapy reported high degrees of satisfaction. This follow-up article is a general discussion of TDD and our satisfaction survey article.

Published Date: 2021-06-07; Received Date: 2021-05-17