Chen Fu-Chun, Jin Zhen-Ling, Wang Deng-Feng
Department of Spine Surgery Department of Intensive Medicine/Orthopedics, the Fourth People's Hospital of Shaanxi, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Jul;97(27):e11265. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000011265.
This study investigated the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for the treatment of patients with chronic pain after ankylosing spondylitis (AS).A total of 72 eligible patients with chronic pain following AS were included. All included patients received exercise and were assigned to a treatment group and a control group equally. In addition, patients in the treatment group also underwent TENS therapy. All patients were treated for a total of 6 weeks. The primary outcome of pain intensity was measured by visual analog scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes included degree of functional limitation, as assessed by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI); and quality of life, as evaluated by Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQoL) questionnaire. All outcomes were assessed before and after 6 weeks treatment. Furthermore, adverse events were also recorded.After 6-week treatment, patients in the treatment group did not show more promising outcomes in pain reduction, as measured by VAS (P = .08); functional evaluation, as evaluated by BASFI (P = .19); as well as quality of life, as assessed by ASQoL (P = .18), compared with patients in the control group. No adverse events occurred in both groups.This study did not exert encouraging outcomes in patients with chronic pain following AS after 6-week treatment.
本研究调查了经皮电刺激神经疗法（TENS）对强直性脊柱炎（AS）后慢性疼痛患者的治疗效果。共纳入72例符合条件的AS后慢性疼痛患者。所有纳入患者均接受运动治疗，并被平均分为治疗组和对照组。此外，治疗组患者还接受TENS治疗。所有患者共治疗6周。疼痛强度的主要结局通过视觉模拟量表（VAS）测量。次要结局包括功能受限程度，通过巴斯强直性脊柱炎功能指数（BASFI）评估；以及生活质量，通过强直性脊柱炎生活质量（ASQoL）问卷评估。所有结局均在治疗6周前后进行评估。此外，还记录了不良事件。治疗6周后，与对照组患者相比，治疗组患者在通过VAS测量的疼痛减轻方面（P = 0.08）、通过BASFI评估的功能评价方面（P = 0.19）以及通过ASQoL评估的生活质量方面（P = 0.18）均未显示出更有前景的结果。两组均未发生不良事件。本研究在对AS后慢性疼痛患者进行6周治疗后未取得令人鼓舞的结果。
