Guidance
3 Committee considerations
The evidence
3.1 To inform the committee, NICE did a rapid review of the published literature on the efficacy and safety of this procedure. This comprised a comprehensive literature search and detailed review of the evidence from 3 sources, which was discussed by the committee. The evidence included 3 case series, and is presented in table 2 of the interventional procedures overview. Other relevant literature is in the appendix of the overview.
3.2 The specialist advisers and the committee considered the key efficacy outcomes to be: reduced neuropathic pain, improved patient-reported outcomes, including quality of life, and long-term efficacy.
3.3 The specialist advisers and the committee considered the key safety outcomes to be: bleeding and inadvertent neurological damage, including stroke and cognitive dysfunction.
3.4 Patient commentary was sought but none was received.