Battery life following pallidal deep brain stimulation (DBS) in children and young people with severe primary and secondary dystonia.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The finite life of non-rechargeable batteries powering implantable pulse generators (IPG) necessitates their periodic replacement. Children receiving deep brain stimulation (DBS) may require frequent battery changes over their treatment lifetime.

OBJECTIVES:

We aimed to determine the battery life of IPGs used in pallidal DBS for the treatment of dystonia in children and young people.

METHODS:

We make use of a review of case notes of all children and young people undergoing DBS surgery at our institution from June 2005 to May 2010.

RESULTS:

A total of 54 children and young people underwent surgery on at least one occasion, with a total of 76 IPGs implanted. Replacement IPGs due to battery failure were required in 15 out of 54 (27.8%). The average time to battery failure was 24.5 ± 2.9 months (95% confidence interval), with a range of 13-39 months. Battery life was significantly longer in primary compared to subsequent IPGs. No difference in longevity was seen between different IPG devices.

CONCLUSIONS:

IPG battery life may be short in children and young people receiving treatment for dystonia. These findings highlight the potential benefits of the recently introduced rechargeable neurostimulators.

• Authors: Daniel E Lumsden, Margaret Kaminska, Kylie Tustin, Hortensia Gimeno, Lesley Baker, Keyoumars Ashkan, Richard Selway, Jean-Pierre Lin
• Journal: Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery (Childs Nerv Syst) Vol. 28 Issue 7 Pg. 1091-7 (Jul 2012) ISSN: 1433-0350 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 22427261 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Topics

• Adolescent
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Deep Brain Stimulation (instrumentation, methods)
• Dystonia (therapy)
• Electric Power Supplies
• Electrodes, Implanted
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Functional Laterality
• Globus Pallidus (physiology)
• Humans
• Male
• Retrospective Studies
• Time Factors
• Treatment Outcome