Background and aims
During the lead implantation of most neurostimulators, the patient needs to provide adequate feedback, and be with as little pain as possible. Sedation-analgesia can induce this situation. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the sedation-analgesia regimens of Dutch pain specialists. To this end a questionnaire was sent to them focusing on the sedative agent dexmedetomidine. This sedative has an attractive pharmacological profile and prior research into this drug yielded promising findings during awake procedures.

Methods
The questionnaire was sent to the 65 Dutch pain specialists involved in neurostimulation. The questionnaire consisted of questions concerning different aspects of sedation-analgesia during neurostimulation: the current regimen, the experience with dexmedetomidine and the preferences regarding these different aspects i.e., production of arousable sedation, pain management, quality of patient's feedback and overall preference.

Conclusion:
The most commonly used sedation-analgesia regimen is the combination of propofol-remifentanil during the implantation of a neurostimulator among Dutch pain specialists. Only a small percentage of respondents had experience with the use of dexmedetomidine, despite its reported advantages.

THE SEDATION-ANALGESIA REGIMEN DURING NEUROSTIMULATION AMONG DUTCH PAIN SPECIALISTS