Table 1.
Clinical and demographical characteristics of patients and medication intake
| Patient | Sex | Age (years) | Aetiology | ASIA | Years since SCI | Neurological level of injury | Pain location | Type of pain | Pain medication |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transcranial DCS + visual illusion group | |||||||||
| M | 63 | T | B | 4 | C7 | Thoracic, arms, lower limb | At and below | PGB, PCT | |
| M | 38 | T | A | 3 | C6 | Abdomen, bilateral foots | Below | PGB, CNZ | |
| M | 34 | T | B | 3 | C4 | Bilateral foots | Below | ANT, PGB, CNZ | |
| F | 36 | T | A | 2 | C4 | Arms | At | GBP | |
| M | 21 | T | A | 4 | TH4 | Thoracic, lower limb | At and below | GBP, CNZ, FE | |
| M | 66 | T | A | 31 | TH11 | Bilateral lower limb | Below | CNZ, GBP, ANT | |
| M | 37 | ME | A | 1 | TH12 | Abdomen | At | GBP | |
| M | 40 | T | A | 2 | TH10 | Lower limb, foot | Below | GBP, CNZ | |
| F | 44 | ME | A | 5 | TH3 | Abdomen, lower limb | Below | ANT | |
| M | 46 | ME | A | 1 | TH3 | Bilateral foots | Below | GBP, ANT | |
| Transcranial DCS group | |||||||||
| M | 36 | T | A | 5 | TH10 | Bilateral lower limbs | Below | TMD, CNZ, GBP | |
| M | 43 | T | A | 19 | TH10 | Abdomen, lower limb | Below | PGB | |
| M | 50 | T | A | 18 | TH9 | Bilateral lower limb | Below | CNZ, TMD | |
| M | 28 | T | A | 2 | TH10 | Abdomen, bilateral lower limb | At and below | PCT, ANT | |
| M | 32 | ME | A | 8 | TH10 | Lower limb | Below | PGB, ANT | |
| M | 36 | T | A | 2 | TH9 | Lower limbs | Below | KTM, GBP, PGB, CNZ, ANT | |
| M | 29 | T | A | 8 | TH8 | Genital area | Below | ANT | |
| F | 49 | ME | B | 2 | C7 | Abdomen, bilateral lower limb | Below | CNZ, PGB | |
| M | 44 | T | B | 3 | TH12 | Bilateral lower limb, foots | Below | TMD, CNZ, GBP | |
| M | 62 | T | A | 19 | TH11 | Lower limbs | Below | GBP, CNZ | |
| Visual illusion group | |||||||||
| M | 57 | ME | A | 29 | TH9 | Abdomen, lower limb | At and below | PGB | |
| M | 53 | ME | B | 9 | TH6 | Thoracic, lower limb | At and below | GBP, PGB | |
| M | 59 | T | A | 1 | C4 | Bilateral Arms, abdomen | At and below | TMD, GBP, ANT | |
| M | 42 | T | A | 25 | TH7 | Abdomen, bilateral lower limb | Below | – | |
| M | 58 | T | A | 5 | TH12 | Genital area, lower limb | Below | PGB, OXT, CNZ | |
| M | 35 | T | A | 9 | TH4 | Abdomen, bilateral lower limb | Below | GBP, PGB, ANT, FE | |
| F | 49 | T | A | 12 | TH3 | Abdomen, bilateral lower limb | Below | FE, ANT | |
| F | 27 | ME | B | 2 | TH12 | Lower limbs | Below | PGB | |
| F | 57 | T | A | 6 | TH11 | Abdomen, lower limb | Below | FE, GBP, ANT | |
| Placebo group | |||||||||
| M | 39 | T | A | 5 | C7 | Abdomen, lower limb | Below | GBP, CNZ, FE, PGB, ANT | |
| F | 50 | T | A | 2 | C5 | Lower limb, bilateral foots | Below | GBP, ANT | |
| M | 58 | T | A | 4 | TH11 | Abdomen, lower limb | At and below | PGB, CNZ | |
| M | 38 | T | A | 7 | TH5 | Bilateral lower limb, foot | Below | GBP, CNZ, FE | |
| M | 29 | T | A | 5 | TH6 | Thoracic, lower limb | At and below | CNZ, PGB, TMD | |
| M | 62 | T | A | 10 | TH11 | Lower limb | Below | PGB, GBP, CNZ, TMD | |
| M | 34 | T | A | 10 | TH11 | Abdomen, bilateral lower limb | Below | CNZ, ANT, GBP, TMD | |
| F | 44 | ME | B | 8 | C3 | Lower limb | Below | GBP, CNZ, ANT | |
| F | 55 | T | B | 21 | C7 | Abdomen, arms | At and below | – | |
| M | 41 | ME | A | 14 | TH10 | Lower limb | Below | GBP | |
M = male; F = female. Aetiology: T = trauma; ME = medical aetiology. ASIA classification: A = complete, no sensory or motor function is preserved in the sacral segments S4–S5; B = incomplete, preservation of sensory but not motor function. Neurological level: C = cervical; TH = thoracic level SCI. Below-level pain was defined as neuropathic pain present more than three dermatomes below the neurological level equal and at-level pain as pain located within the dermatome at and three dermatomes below the neurological level. Below-level pain extending to the at-level area is classified as below-level pain if the patient is unable to distinguish two separate pain problems. Medication: GBP = gabapentin; CNZ = clonazepam; PGB = pregabalin; TMD = tramadol; FE = fentanyl; KTM = ketamine; OXT = oxycodone; ANT = antidepressive.