Abstract
We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of temporary spinal cord stimulation (temporary SCS) in patients with zoster-associated pain until six months of its onset. Temporary SCS was applied to 32 patients who were on multiple medications, and those with a root block and sympathetic ganglion block were refractory. The analgesic effects were assessed based on scores of the visual analogue scale (VAS) or numerical rating scale (NRS) before and after treatment. In 20 of the 32 (62.5%) cases, an analgesic effect, which is defined as a ≧50% decrease in the VAS or NRS scores, was observed after the treatment. In 14 cases, such an effect was observed one year after the treatment. Temporary SCS is an effective analgesic technique and may prevent transition to postherpetic neuralgia in case with refractory zoster-associated pain until one year of its onset.
