Infrared Images for Spinal Cord Stimulation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Patients

Official title

The Effect of Spinal Cord Stimulation on Thermal Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) Imaging in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

Overview

The goal of this observational study is to compare thermal camera Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) images before and after spinal cord stimulation to evaluate the difference in sympathetic activity of the affected limb in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The main questions it aims to answer are: Question 1: Can Infrared (FLIR) imaging be used to monitor the sympatholytic activity caused by Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) in patients with CRPS? Question 2: Is there any correlation between the quantification of sympatholytic activity produced by Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and measured by FLIR imaging with the outcome measures in patients with CRPS? Outcome measures include pain (NRS), CRPS Severity Score (CSS), and neuropathic pain score (painDETECT). Participants will have an image of their feet taken perpendicularly with a 1-inch space from all four sides using a FLIR T420 or T62101 camera with 320\*240 resolution. Participants will also complete questionnaires about the average pain, CRPS severity, and neuropathic pain.

Detailed description

Patients with CRPS often present with sympathetic dysfunction and peripheral vasomotor disturbances. Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) may have a sympatholytic effect with improved microcirculation and regional blood flow. This research proposal aims to investigate the potential use of Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) imaging to monitor whether the sympatholytic effect is enhanced by using SCS in CRPS patients. The goal of this observational study is to compare thermal camera Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) images before and after spinal cord stimulation to evaluate the difference in sympathetic activity of the affected limb in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The main questions it aims to answer are:

Question 1: Can Infrared (FLIR) imaging be used to monitor the sympatholytic activity caused by Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) in patients with CRPS?

Question 2: Is there any correlation between the quantification of sympatholytic activity produced by Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and measured by FLIR imaging with the outcome measures in patients with CRPS? Outcome measures include pain (NRS), CRPS Severity Score (CSS), and neuropathic pain score (painDETECT).

Participants will have an image of their feet taken perpendicularly with a 1-inch space from all four sides using a FLIR T420 or T62101 camera with 320\*240 resolution.

Participants will also complete questionnaires about the average pain, CRPS severity, and neuropathic pain.

Interventions

• Other Forward Looking InfraRed Camera
  Forward Looking InfraRed Camera: 1. We will use a FLIR T420 or T62101 camera with a resolution of 320\*240. 2. Each image will be captured perpendicularly with a 1-inch gap on all four sides. 3. A Myler blanket placed in the background will separate the feet from the background. 4. The camera will be normalized to a temperature range of 15°C to 40°C. 5. The images will be saved in radiometric JPEG format. 6. Once the images have been transferred to a computer, we will remove the background. 7.

Primary outcome measures

• Temperature difference in limb [Time frame: 2-8 days after the trial procedure]

Secondary outcome measures (3)

• Average Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) Pain [Time frame: 2-8 days after the trial procedure]
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Severity Score (CSS) [Time frame: 2-8 days after the trial procedure]
• Average level of Neuropathic Pain Score (PainDetect-PD) [Time frame: 2-8 days after the trial procedure]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• The patient is between 18 and 85 years old
• Providing CRPS diagnostic criteria by using the Budapest Clinical Diagnostic Criteria.
• CRPS affecting unilateral lower extremity
• The patient has had pain and other symptoms for more than 3 months
• Not responding to conventional medical treatments and multidisciplinary approach
• High NRS detection in pain assessment despite appropriate treatment (NRS= and > 6/10).
• Pain causing a limitation in the patient's functional capacity despite appropriate treatment.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with suspected disc herniation, spinal stenosis, myelopathy, and suspected radiculopathy in detailed examinations and examinations (MRI, CT).
• Systemic or local infection
• Coagulation disorders
• History of allergy to contrast material
• Malignancy
• Pregnancy
• Uncontrollable medical and psychiatric condition
• The patients diagnosed with dysautonomia, sympathetic dysfunction other than CRPS (such as Raynaud disease or Buerger disease), sweating disorders other than CRPS (such as acquired idiopathic generalized anhidrosis), and patients

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Observational model

Cohort

Study locations

United States · 1 center

• Hospital for Special Surgery — New York

Publications

• Harden RN, McCabe CS, Goebel A, Massey M, Suvar T, Grieve S, Bruehl S. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Practical Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines, 5th Edition. Pain Med. 2022 Jun 10;23(Suppl 1):S1-S53. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnac046. PMID 35687369
• Baron R, Schattschneider J, Binder A, Siebrecht D, Wasner G. Relation between sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity and pain and hyperalgesia in complex regional pain syndromes: a case-control study. Lancet. 2002 May 11;359(9318):1655-60. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08589-6. PMID 12020526
• Croom JE, Foreman RD, Chandler MJ, Barron KW. Cutaneous vasodilation during dorsal column stimulation is mediated by dorsal roots and CGRP. Am J Physiol. 1997 Feb;272(2 Pt 2):H950-7. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.1997.272.2.H950. PMID 9124459
• Jacobs MJ, Jorning PJ, Joshi SR, Kitslaar PJ, Slaaf DW, Reneman RS. Epidural spinal cord electrical stimulation improves microvascular blood flow in severe limb ischemia. Ann Surg. 1988 Feb;207(2):179-83. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198802000-00011. PMID 3257679
• Linderoth B, Fedorcsak I, Meyerson BA. Peripheral vasodilatation after spinal cord stimulation: animal studies of putative effector mechanisms. Neurosurgery. 1991 Feb;28(2):187-95. PMID 1671794
• Huh BK, Park CH, Ranson M, Campbell GL, Ravanbakht J. Thermogram in spinal cord stimulation with complex regional pain syndrome and a review of the literature. Neuromodulation. 2010 Apr;13(2):114-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1403.2009.00236.x. Epub 2009 Sep 3. PMID 21992784
• Harden RN, Bruehl S, Stanton-Hicks M, Wilson PR. Proposed new diagnostic criteria for complex regional pain syndrome. Pain Med. 2007 May-Jun;8(4):326-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2006.00169.x. PMID 17610454
• Harden NR, Bruehl S, Perez RSGM, Birklein F, Marinus J, Maihofner C, Lubenow T, Buvanendran A, Mackey S, Graciosa J, Mogilevski M, Ramsden C, Schlereth T, Chont M, Vatine JJ. Development of a severity score for CRPS. Pain. 2010 Dec;151(3):870-876. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.09.031. Epub 2010 Oct 20. PMID 20965657

Identifiers

NCT: NCT05777889 · 2022-2480

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗