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Median follow\u2010up time was 48 months (interquartile range [IQR], 33\u201372 months). Definitive stimulators were implanted in 4361 people (74.7%), of whom 3244 had previously had at least one stimulation trial (74.3%; one trial only: 2970 people); 1478 people (25.3%) had trials but never proceeded to definitive implants. Surgical re\u2010interventions were required by 1011 people with definitive implants (23.2%); the median time to the first re\u2010intervention was 16.8 months (IQR, 6.2\u201339.8 months). The cumulative probability of requiring surgical re\u2010intervention at 36 months was 0.35. The median cost to the insurer of a trial implant was $13\u2009689, for a definitive implant (device, medical, and hospital costs for initial procedure and re\u2010interventions) $55\u2009635.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>About one in four people will require surgical re\u2010intervention within 36 months of receiving a definitive spinal cord stimulator, and the costs for the procedure are high. Both findings are concerning given the paucity of evidence for their efficacy in treating chronic pain.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.5694\/mja2.70001","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]],"date-time":"2025-07-15T04:58:53Z","timestamp":1752555533000},"page":"243-247","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Spinal cord stimulation patterns of care, re\u2010interventions, and costs for private health insurers, Australia, 2011\u201322: a retrospective observational study"],"prefix":"10.5694","volume":"223","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9887-2493","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Caitlin MP","family":"Jones","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Sydney Institute for Musculoskeletal Health  Sydney NSW"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1628-7857","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christopher G","family":"Maher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sydney School of Public Health the University of Sydney  Sydney NSW"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rachelle","family":"Buchbinder","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine  Melbourne VIC"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0887-7627","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ian A","family":"Harris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"South Western Sydney Clinical School University of New South Wales  Liverpool NSW"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chung\u2010Wei Christine","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Sydney Institute for Musculoskeletal Health  Sydney NSW"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christopher","family":"Hayes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hunter New England Health  Newcastle NSW"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandra","family":"Gorelik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine  Melbourne VIC"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_1_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ejp.1336"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/pm\/pnz073"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.36076\/ppj.2020\/23\/87"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","first-page":"67","article-title":"Multi\u2010waveform spinal cord stimulation with high frequency electromagnetic coupled (HF\u2010EMC) powered implanted electrode array and receiver for the treatment of chronic back and leg pain (SURF study)","volume":"25","author":"Bolash R","year":"2022","journal-title":"Pain Physician"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","article-title":"Spinal cord stimulation for low back pain","volume":"3","author":"Traeger AC","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","article-title":"Implanted spinal neuromodulation interventions for chronic pain in adults","volume":"12","author":"O\u2019Connell NE","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/PTS.0000000000000971"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pain.2004.12.004"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_9_1","article-title":"Spinal cord stimulator","author":"Sivanesan E.","journal-title":"Johns Hopkins Medicine"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_10_1","unstructured":"Hunter Pain Specialists.Stimulation trial. 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