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Neurostimulation for Treatment of Chronic Upper Limb Pain After Brachial Plexus Injury

High Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation for Neuropathic Pain Following Brachial Plexus Avulsion Injury: a Prospective Observational Cohort Study

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04733599
Enrollment
20
Registered
2021-02-02
Start date
2021-02-01
Completion date
2026-12-01
Last updated
2026-03-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Brachial Plexus Injury

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to see how much pain intensity is affected by high frequency spinal cord stimulation therapy in individuals with serious brachial plexus injury.

Detailed description

This single-site prospective observational cohort study will include all adults (\> 18 years old) with brachial plexus avulsion injury who are candidates for high frequency (HF10) spinal cord stimulation (SCS). We plan to prospectively observe patients who undergo implantation of HF10 SCS for the indication of chronic neuropathic pain of the upper limb following brachial plexus avulsion injury.

Interventions

None listed

Sponsors

Mayo Clinic
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age \> 18 years old * Neuropathic pain of the upper limb ≥ 3 months following brachial plexus avulsion injury. * Patients must be planned to undergo implantation of high-frequency spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain due to brachial plexus avulsion injury.

Exclusion criteria

* Pain that is non-neuropathic as defined by DN4 score \<4. * Pregnant at the time of consideration for implant or planning to become pregnant during the study duration. * Active substance use disorder of any kind. * Active tobacco use. * Use of moderate or high dose opioid medication (oral morphine equivalents \>100 mg daily). * Active, untreated major psychiatric disorder that might interfere with subject's ability to participate. * Involvement in active litigation related to injury. * Patient has not undergone conservative medical management for at least 3 months (including physical and/or occupational therapy and at least one trial of neuropathic pain medication).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in neuropathic painBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the patient reported Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) which uses a scale of 0 = "have not felt such pain" and 10 = "feel it the worst" for a total score with a higher score indicates greater pain.
Change in multidimensional pain inventoryBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional pain inventory self-reported questionnaire to assess the impact of pain on daily living
Change in Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) Questionnairebaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsChange in DN4 questionnaire to estimate the probability of neuropathic pain with seven questions asking patients about quality of pain and three questions for physical examination of pain. Questions are yes = 1 or no = 0 to obtain a patient's total score out of 10, higher scores indicate more probability of pain.
Change in pain intensityBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the PROMIS-CAT pain intensity scale
Change in pain interferenceBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the PROMIS-CAT pain interference scale

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) disability/symptom scoreBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the self-reported DASH 30-item questionnaire to assess the ability to perform activities. Total score on a scale of 0 indicating no disability to 100 indicating most serve disability
Assessment of the effectiveness of high frequency spinal cord stimulation in the above population in the improvement of quality of life as measured by validated patient-completed questionnaires.baseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the EQ-5D.
Change in moodBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the Center for Epidemiologic Depression Studies - Depression Scale. A 20-item self-reported questionnaire using a scale of 0 (rarely or none of the time) and 3 (most or all of the time) for a total score with high scores indicating the presence of more
Change in pain experienceBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsChange in self-reported 13-item Pain Catastrophizing scale of 0 (not at all) and 4 (all the time) for a total score with higher scores indicating higher levels of pain anxiety
Change in pain anxietyBaseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using the self-reported Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale Short Form 20 to rate frequency of symptoms on a scale of 0 (never) to 5 (always) for a total score with higher score indicating high levels of pain-related anxiety
Assessment of the effect of high frequency spinal cord stimulation in the above population on sensory function in the affected limb.Baseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 monthsMeasured using Quantitative Sensory Testing

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORChristy Hunt, DO

Mayo Clinic

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 3, 2026