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Majithia, N., Smith, T.J., Coyne, P.J., Abdi, S., Pachman, D.R., Lachance, D., . . . O’Neill, C. (2016). Scrambler therapy for the management of chronic pain. Supportive Care in Cancer, 24, 2807–2814.
STUDY PURPOSE: To evaluate what is known about mechanisms of scramble therapy and investigate preliminary evidence regarding efficacy
TYPE OF STUDY: General review/semi-systematic review
Search Strategy
DATABASES USED: PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, Google Scholar
INCLUSION CRITERIA: Studies and reports involving scrambler therapy or Calmare
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Not specified
Literature Evaluated
TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 20
EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Three studies were randomized, controlled trials, one of which was open-label
Sample Characteristics
FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED = 20
TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW = 1,200
SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 3–226 patients
KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Four reports involved patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy; seven studies included patients with cancer
Phase of Care and Clinical Applications
PHASE OF CARE: Not specified or not applicable
Results
Most reports showed positive results for pain reduction for various pain syndromes. One double-blind, randomized trial showed no difference between controls and those receiving scrambler therapy for chemotherapy-related peripheral neuropathy.
Conclusions
Scramble therapy may have benefit for management of chronic pain and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy; however, current evidence is limited and weak.
Limitations
Limited number of studies included
No quality evaluation
Mostly low quality/high risk of bias studies
Low sample sizes
Nursing Implications
Scrambler therapy, a neuromodulator approach to pain relief, may have some benefit in the management of chronic pain and peripheral neuropathy; however, current evidence is limited, and study designs have high risk of bias. Given the promising findings with scrambler therapy, additional well-designed research is warranted.