SI-BONE reported results from two studies revealing the impact of the iFuse Implant System on opioid use.
The iFuse is a triangular-shaped device designed for more minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion.
Here are four insights:
1. The studies demonstrated patients treated with iFuse were less likely to take opioids compared to those receiving non-surgical care.
2. A six-year study, published in Neurosurgery, found iFuse patients were 11 times less likely to take opioids at the last follow-up, than those patients who received either conservative care or radiofrequency ablation.
3. The Neurosurgery study found more than 80 percent of the patients were denied iFuse coverage.
4. The INSITE study compared MIS SI joint fusion with the iFuse versus non-surgical management. This study saw a 30 percent decrease from baseline in terms of iFuse patients taking opioids compared to patients treated non-surgically, at two years.
"It's rather remarkable that in both studies the number of patients taking opioids in the iFuse Implant group was significantly lower than the number of patients taking opioids in the non-surgical care group in spite of a lack of a structured program focused on opioid-use dependence," said Daniel Cher, MD, vice president of clinical affairs, SI-BONE.