Papers of the Week

Painful diabetic neuropathy is a common disease that results in significant pain and disability. Treatment options have traditionally consisted of conservative measures including topical and oral medication management as well as transcutaneous electrical stimulation units. These treatments demonstrate various degrees of efficacy, and many times initial treatments are discontinued, indicating low levels of satisfaction or poor tolerability. Spinal cord stimulation has been proposed as an alternative therapy for treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy of the lower extremities. We performed a systematic literature review to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this procedure. A literature search identified 14 prospective studies. Based on our analysis of the available evidence, there is moderate-quality evidence for the safety and efficacy of spinal cord stimulation for painful diabetic neuropathy. However, further high-quality research, including a large-scale randomized controlled trial is warranted.