Continual infusion of intrathecal baclofen (ITB): long-term effect on spasticity.

BACKGROUND Spasticity is a disorder of muscular function causing muscular tightness or spasm which occurs when there is damage to the central nervous system whether it is of spinal cord or brain origin. This insult could be either pathological or traumatic. METHOD Thirty-three patients had intrathecal Baclofen pumps implanted for severe spasticity. These patients either did not respond to or tolerate oral medications. RESULTS All patients showed significant improvement in their spasms following the procedure. Improvement was noted not only in spasticity, but also in pain, management of sleep disturbance, activities of daily living, indoor and outdoor mobility and behavior. CONCLUSION The number of complications was acceptable, and generally were not life-threatening. Infection was the significant complication in two patients and this led to explantation of their pumps. Patient satisfaction was very high and was related to improvement in the quality of life for the patients.