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case-report

Spinal Cord Stimulation for Severe Degenerative Joint Disease of the Shoulder in a Patient with Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A New Indication?

From the Division of Pain Medicine, Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Kayode A. Williams, MD, MBA, FFARCSI, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 550 North Broadway, Suite 309A, Baltimore, MD 21205. Address e-mail to kwilli64{at}jhmi.edu.

Abstract

Approximately 70% of the United States population older than 65 yr has osteoarthritis. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is also more prevalent in the elderly, and thus, the likelihood of having elderly patients with osteoarthritis and COPD in clinical settings is significant. COPD may preclude the optimum use of opioids, thus the potential to provide pain control with nonpharmacological treatment modalities becomes a valuable option. We present the case of an elderly woman with severe degenerative joint disease of the shoulder and severe COPD in whom spinal cord stimulation was used to provide pain control.