Efficacy of the Quell Wearable Device for Chronic Low Back Pain

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Low Back Pain

Interventions: Device: Quell

Registration Number: NCT02944513

Lead Sponsor: Brigham and Women's Hospital

Brief Summary: This is a 1-year trial designed to gather information about the use of the Quell for persons with chronic musculoskeletal low back pain.

Detailed Description: Research Objectives: This is a 1-year trial designed to gather information about the use of the Quell for persons with chronic musculoskeletal low back pain. The investigators hypothesize that those assigned to using the device will report reduced back pain compared with those in the control condition; with those using the device also showing improvement in sleep, mood, and level of activity. The investigators hypothesize that frequency of using the Quell (increased tolerability and adherence) will be correlated with greater reduction in pain. The investigators hypothesize that the device will be safe to use and will demonstrate a reduction in healthcare utilization (reduced clinic and Emergency Department visits). Finally, based on preliminary analyses limited by few subject numbers, the investigators will investigate whether certain individuals report greater benefit from using the Quell than others and, in particular, would predict that those with more intense and longer duration of pain will demonstrate most benefit.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 68

Inclusion Criteria

All participants will be adults age 21 or older and diagnosed with axial musculoskeletal back pain without radiculopathy.
Patients will be invited to participate if they own a smart phone (iPhone or Android device) and are able to download the pain app and the Quell Relief program app onto their device.
Patients will also be included if they:
1. have chronic pain for > 3 months' duration
2. average 4 or greater on a pain intensity scale of 0 to 10
3. are able to speak and understand English.

Exclusion Criteria

Patients will be excluded from participation if they meet any of the following criteria:
1. diagnosis of cancer or any other malignant disease
2. acute osteomyelitis or acute bone disease
3. present or past Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-V diagnosis of schizophrenia, delusional disorder, psychotic disorder, or dissociative disorder that would be judged to interfere with study participation
4. pregnancy
5. any clinically unstable systemic illness judged to interfere with treatment
6. a pain condition requiring urgent surgery
7. an active substance use disorder, such as cocaine or IV heroin use, (positive on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview; M.I.N.I. v.5.0) that would interfere with study participation
8. any prescription opioid use for pain
9. have an implanted cardiac pacemaker, defibrillator, or other implanted device. All subjects will be asked to not change their treatment during the study period.

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Experimental	Quell	Subjects will receive the Quell device

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pain Catastrophizing Scale	3 months	Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) has thirteen statements describing different thoughts and feelings that may be associated with pain. Using a 5-point scale from 0 (Not at all) to 4 (all the time), people indicate the degree to which they have these thoughts and feelings when they are experiencing pain. The sum has a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 52. Higher scores mean high levels of pain catastrophizing and worse outcome.
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale Total Score	3 months	Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is commonly used to determine the levels of anxiety and depression that a person is experiencing. The HADS is a fourteen item scale. Seven of the items relate to anxiety and seven relate to depression. Each item on the questionnaire is scored from 0-3 and this means that a person can score between 0 and 21 for either anxiety or depression. This outcome is a total score, which was calculated by adding the anxiety score and the depression score. Total score ranges from 0-42, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.
Pain Intensity (Average)	3 months	Rate average pain intensity using visual analog scale on a scale of 0-10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is worst possible pain. Higher scores mean a worse outcome.
Average Pain Interference	3 months	This measures the average pain interference with general activity, mood, walking ability, normal work, relations with others, sleep and enjoyment of life using visual analogue scale. On a scale of 0-10, 0 is no interference and 10 is extreme interference. Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Pain Disability Index	3 months	The Pain Disability Index (PDI) a simple and rapid instrument for measuring the impact that pain has on the ability of a person to participate in essential life activities. For each of the 7 categories of life activity listed, a score of 0 means no disability at all, and a score of 10 signifies that all of the activities in which you would normally be involved have been totally disrupted or prevented by your pain. The minimal index is 0 and maximal index is 70. The higher the index the greater the person's disability due to pain meaning a worse outcome.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Post-study Helpfulness Questionnaire	3 months	The questionnaire asked the participants to rate how helpful was the device for the low back pain on a scale of 0-10. 0 is not helpful at all and 10 is very helpful. Higher value means better outcome.