Dorsal root ganglion stimulation provides functional improvement from debilitating abdominal pain in Crohn's disease: A 12-month follow-up

Background

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic relapsing-remitting, immunological, inflammatory bowel disease involving any part of the gastrointestinal tract, most commonly, the terminal ileum. Abdominal pain is a prominent debilitating symptom of CD due to continuous intestinal inflammation, associated with disease severity and complications. However, abdominal pain has shown to occur even with disease remission.

Case presentation

A female college student with a history of Crohn's Disease was referred for severe, chronic abdominal pain, with frequent flare-ups and hospitalizations. Due to her refractory debilitating pain, DRG stimulation was initiated with leads placed at right T11 and T12. Twelve months post-implantation, the patient reports 50–60 % reduction in pain, tolerance of an oral diet without postprandial pain, no occurrence of flares since implant, and an overall improvement in function and quality of life.

Conclusion

This report showcases the therapeutic potential of DRG stimulation in managing intractable chronic abdominal pain in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease.