Abstract
BackgroundThe clinical efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in treatment resistant patients (at least 4 medication trials) appears to be well accepted and forms the coverage policies and rTMS’s use in many of the largest US payers. However, less is known about rTMS’s use in patients who have undergone ≤1 failed medication trial. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the clinical efficacy of rTMS in patients after ≤1 medication trials.MethodsA systematic review of the literature was undertaken to identify all articles which addressed the use of rTMS in ≤1 medication trial. All types of study designs were included and assessed for quality and strength of evidence using: GRADE and CEBM. Searches of peer reviewed articles were undertaken for the year 2000 to the present. All languages were considered. Electronic databases were searched and included: PubMed and EBSCO. Evidence assessment websites were also searched and included: Cochrane, NICE, AHRQ, and ICER. Additionally, the clinical guidelines for specialty societies which use rTMS was searched. Hand searches of the reference sections of identified articles was also undertaken.ResultsElectronic and other sources identified 165 after duplicates were removed. Twenty two articles were assessed for eligibility and ultimately 10 articles were included in the systematic review and graded. Six articles were graded high quality (CEBM/GRADE: 1c/B) demonstrating that the use of rTMS was clinically efficacious in patients after ≤1 medication trial. Four additional trials demonstrated a positive effect of rTMS in patients after ≤1 medication trial but were of a lower quality.ConclusionThe use of rTMS in patients after ≤1 medication trial should be considered. US payers should consider revising their coverage policies to include the use of rTMS in these patients.
Highlights
The clinical efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in treatment resistant patients appears to be well accepted and forms the coverage policies and rTMS’s use in many of the largest US payers
Elton B. Stephens Company (EBSCO) searched on January 31, 2018 using the search terms: ((((((rTMS) AND major) AND depress*) AND controlled) AND trial)) AND response – 50 hits; 4 records identified. 4 duplicates; 0 new records obtained
We present results of the first systematic examination of published clinical trial data to demonstrate that the use of rTMS therapy in patients with ≤1 failed medication trials produces superior outcomes compared to those observed in patients who exhibit higher levels of medication resistance
Summary
The clinical efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in treatment resistant patients (at least 4 medication trials) appears to be well accepted and forms the coverage policies and rTMS’s use in many of the largest US payers. Less is known about rTMS’s use in patients who have undergone ≤1 failed medication trial The purpose of this analysis was to determine the clinical efficacy of rTMS in patients after ≤1 medication trials. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an FDA cleared therapy for use in treating major depressive disorder (MDD). Medical specialty guidance documents support its use, including a whitepaper from the Clinical Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Society [9] and consensus recommendations published by a group of rTMS experts in the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Council on Research [10]. RTMS is like other known antidepressant treatments in this respect with greater treatment resistance generally predicting poorer response [10].”
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