For patients whose severe pain or spasticity has not responded to other therapies, intrathecal drug delivery (ITDD) can be life-changing. However, the therapy remains an often underrecognized area of interventional pain practice. A special edition of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine (RAPM), published in the September 2026 issue, puts ITDD in the spotlight with research and clinical insights examining its current use and future directions.

Special edition co-editors Sam Eldabe, MBChB, FRCA, FFPMRCA, EDPM, RAPM associate editor-in-chief for chronic pain, and Salim Hayek, MD, PhD, RAPM editor, hope the collection will bring renewed attention to a therapy that can offer significant benefits for patients with refractory pain.

“While largely considered the forgotten cousin of spinal cord stimulation, ITDD remains very much a relevant therapy for our patients,” Eldabe said. “As such, a global clinical update was very much overdue.”

He noted that seeing the life-changing effects of ITDD for patients with severe cancer pain or spasticity continues to drive clinicians and researchers in the field despite limited resources and opportunities to showcase their work.

Hayek similarly described ITDD as “an essential component of interventional pain practice” that can successfully manage refractory pain when other therapies have failed.

“This special issue of RAPM brings together an exciting mix of novel findings and essential pearls of ITDD, making it a must-read for all clinicians tackling chronic pain,” he said.

Read the September 2026 issue of RAPM, including the “Editor’s Choice” article examining the past, present, and future of intrathecal drug delivery, at https://rapm.bmj.com/content/51/9.

• PS-07 Whole-Person Care in Complex Chronic Pain Cases
• PBLD-13 Neuromodulation: Choosing the Right Device for the Right Patient
• WS-16 Hands-On Fluoroscopy Workshop Neuromodulation - DRG, Multifidus, Intrathecal

More about Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine