| Original Article | Korean J Pain 2011 September; Vol. 24, No. 3: 154-157 pISSN 2005-9159 eISSN 2093-0569 http://dx.doi.org/10.3344/kjp.2011.24.3.154 Spinal Cord Stimulation in the Treatment of Postherpetic Neuralgia in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Case Series and Review of the Literature Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea In Yeob Baek, MD, Ju Yeon Park, MD, Hyae Jin Kim, MD, Ji Uk Yoon, MD, Gyeong Jo Byoen, MD, and Kyung Hoon Kim, MD Methods: Results: Conclusions: Background: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is usually managed pharmacologically. It is not uncommon for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) to suffer from PHN. It is difficult to prescribe a sufficient dose of anticonvulsants for intractable pain because of the decreased glomerular filtration rate. If the neural blockade and pulsed radiofrequency ablation provide only short-term amelioration of pain, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) with a low level of evidence may be used only as a last resort. This study was done to evaluate the efficacy of spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of PHN in patients with CKD. PHN patients with CKD who needed hemo-dialysis who received insufficient relief of pain over a VAS of 8 regardless of the neuropathic medications were eligible for SCS trial. The follow-up period was at least 2 years after permanent implantation. Eleven patients received percutaneous SCS test trial from Jan 2003 to Dec 2007. Four patients had successfully received a permanent SCS implant with their pain being tolerable at a VAS score of less than 3 along with small doses of neuropathic medications. SCS was helpful in managing tolerable pain levels in some PHN patients with CKD along with tolerable neuropathic medications for over 2 years. (Korean J Pain 2011; 24: 154-157) Key Words: anticonvulsants, kidney disease, postherpetic neuralgia, spinal cord, therapeutic electric stimulation. Received May 4, 2011. Revised May 11, 2011. Accepted May 18, 2011. Correspondence to: Kyung Hoon Kim, MD Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Beomeo-ri, Mulgeum-eup, Busan 626-770, Korea Tel: ＋82-55-360-1422, Fax: ＋82-55-360-2149, E-mail: pain@pusan.ac.kr This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Copyright ⓒ The Korean Pain Society, 2011