Becker's Spine Review

60 Executive Briefing Patients are responding well to the Intracept Procedure Overall, Dr. Moore's patients have responded very well to Intracept. He has had several patients who were "home runs," experiencing 90 percent to 99 percent relief within one to three weeks post-treatment. His patients, many who are in their 40s and 50s, have remarkable stories of returning to physical activities like golfing or biking that they hadn't enjoyed in years following the procedure. "A majority of my patients experience a 50-75 percent improvement in their pain and function within a few months," he said, "and it's these compelling anecdotes from patients, returning to their desired activities, that continue to push us to offer this therapy." Dr. Naidu's outcomes have mirrored those from the SMART RCT. He estimates that the average pain reduction experienced by his patients has been in the 60 to 70 percent range, and he, too, has been pleased to see several high responders reporting 90 to 100 percent relief of their pain. Particularly interesting to Dr. Naidu has been the patient improvement over time. "Unlike many other procedures we perform, where you get a great result early on in the first few weeks and then you see them six or 12 months later and the pain starts to return, you actually see the opposite with this procedure. You may see gradual results early on, like at the two- or four-week mark, but then you see the patient at the six-month and 12-month mark and they're better than they were at those earlier time points." "It is interesting," Dr. Naidu continued, "that when the five- year data came out from the SMART Trial, it showed the same sort of result — that five-year outcomes were even better than what we saw with the three month and two-year outcomes. As a matter of fact, the incremental improvements were statistically significant from 12 and 24 months to 5 years." The Intracept Procedure as a driver of growth "As physicians, we are focused on helping patients in any way possible. I see the Intracept Procedure being a significant part of our practice's CLBP care continuum," Dr. Naidu said. To help identify and treat patients, Dr. Naidu has spent time educating the spine surgeons in his practice about the benefits of the Intracept Procedure and about which patients are the most appropriate candidates. Dr. Moore sees continued Intracept adoption as physicians become more familiar with the procedure. He is working to get the other physicians in his practice trained on this procedure and is beginning to integrate it in his treatment plan as a first-line therapy for some patients with vertebrogenic CLBP. He is also committed to educating other providers in his community about this innovative procedure. He explained, "I'm trying to get the word out so that we can increase community awareness, and continue to expand our Intracept program, providing this patient population with few options an effective treatment they historically haven't had." Offering this innovative procedure is helping separate Dr. Moore's practice from others in the community, he notes. Dr. Naidu concurred and noted, "This procedure has actually opened up the doors to more interventions in my practices, which has helped me provide more treatment options for patients." Conclusion Patients with chronic low back pain have historically cycled through treatments, searching for both sufficient and long-lasting relief. Supported by two Level I RCTs and recent 5-year data, the Intracept Procedure from Relievant Medsystems has significantly improved the lives of many patients with CLBP who have failed conservative treatments. The procedure has filled a gap in the CLBP care pathway, allowing patients with vertebrogenic pain to return to the physical activities they enjoyed years ago. Both Dr. Moore and Dr. Naidu have incorporated Intracept into their care pathway – actively screening patients for Modic changes and endplate damage, and talking with appropriate patients about how Intracept may benefit them. They believe it is important for physicians providing care for CLBP patients to be familiar with the Intracept Procedure, to understand which patients may be appropriate candidates for the therapy, and to incorporate the procedure into their CLBP practice. As both physicians confirmed, Intracept is a paradigm shift in the treatment of vertebrogenic CLBP, bringing long-lasting pain relief to a historically challenging segment of the chronic pain population. n Relievant Medsystems is a medical device company focused on treating chronic low back pain. After more than a decade of clinical validation and procedural development, the company developed the Intracept® Procedure – a minimally invasive treatment that targets the basivertebral nerve for the relief of chronic vertebrogenic low back pain. Commercially available in the United States, the Intracept Procedure is supported by two Level 1 randomized controlled trials and long-term data demonstrating improvements in pain and function that are maintained beyond five years. Learn more at relievant.com. "Vertebrogenic pain was something that was not broadly recognized or understood until recently. It was also something that was considered untreatable." Gregory A. Moore, MD, Pacific Sports and Spine

• Cover