Ultrasound-Guided Genicular Nerve Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment For Painful Knee Osteoarthritis: A Preliminary Report

Genicular nerve ablation with radiofrequency (RF) has recently emerged as a promising treatment in the management of osteoarthritis related knee pain. To date, genicular nerve injections have been performed under fluoroscopic guidance. To evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided genicular nerve puls...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pain physician 2016-07, Vol.19 (5), p.E751-E759
Main Authors: Kesikburun, Serdar, Yaşar, Evren, Uran, Ayça, Adigüzel, Emre, Yilmaz, Bilge
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Arthralgia - therapy
Arthritis
Autonomic Nerve Block - methods
Chronic Pain - therapy
Female
Humans
Knee
Knee - innervation
Male
Middle Aged
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, Knee - therapy
Pain
Prospective Studies
Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment - methods
Treatment Outcome
Turkey
Ultrasonic imaging
Ultrasonography
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Summary:Genicular nerve ablation with radiofrequency (RF) has recently emerged as a promising treatment in the management of osteoarthritis related knee pain. To date, genicular nerve injections have been performed under fluoroscopic guidance. To evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided genicular nerve pulsed RF treatment on chronic knee pain and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Single-arm prospective study. University hospital and rehabilitation center in Turkey. A review was made of 29 patients with medial knee osteoarthritis who had undergone genicular nerve block in the previous 6 months. Patients with at least 50% reduction in the visual analog scale (VAS) score after genicular nerve block and with no on-going pain relief were selected for the study. Ultrasound-guided genicular nerve pulsed RF was applied to 15 knees of 9 patients. Pain and knee function were assessed with 100-mm VAS and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) index throughout 3 months. A significant reduction in VAS scores was detected over time after the pulsed RF procedure (f: 69.24, P < 0.01). There was a significant improvement in the WOMAC scores (f: 539.68 , P < 0.01). The small number of participants, the lack of a control group, and short follow-up period were limitations of the study. Genicular nerve pulsed RF treatment has been found to be safe and beneficial in osteoarthritis related knee pain. Further studies with a larger population and randomized controlled study design are warranted to confirm the positive findings of this preliminary report.
ISSN:1533-3159
2150-1149
DOI:10.36076/ppj/2019.19.E751