Genicular Radiofrequency Ablation Following Total Knee Arthroplasty

Overview

Currently, nearly 1 million total knee arthroplasties (TKA) are performed yearly in the United States. Three million are projected to be performed in 2040. Between 15-30% of all patients who undergo TKA have continued pain, reduced quality of life and functional impairments that cannot be attributed to hardware failure/loosening or infection. Treatment options for persistent post TKA pain (failed TKA) are limited. There is a need for minimally invasive, and effective pain and disability modulating interventions for patients with failed TKA. Genicular radiofrequency ablation (GRFA) has been described, refined, and validated as an effective minimally invasive intervention to control refractory knee pain secondary to knee osteoarthritis (OA) as evidenced by three favorable meta-analyses published in 2021 alone.3-5 GRFA is a minimally invasive percutaneous procedure that utilizes thermal energy to coagulate nerves from the knee. Though sometimes used in practice, there is limited research describing and evaluating GRFA for patients with failed TKA. This will be the first trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of GRFA in patients with failed TKA using a robust study design and up-to-date, evidence-based selection criteria and technique.

The general objective of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of GRFA in patients with failed TKA. The central hypothesis is that GRFA is safe and more efficacious in improving pain and function than sham GRFA. A triple blinded randomized sham-controlled trial design will be used. Patients with failed TKA will be recruited and randomized into either a thermal or sham GRFA group. Patient selection criteria and GRFA procedural technique will incorporate refinements based on expanded understanding from recent research. Outcomes will be assessed prior to and at 3, 6 and 12 months post-GRFA. The primary outcome measures will be between group difference in the change in pain (NRS) between pre- and 6 months post. Secondary outcomes will include safety and changes in function (WOMAC; sit-stand test; strength; range of motion \& balance), participants' impression of change, perceived need for revision arthroplasty, analgesic use, and quality-of-life. Crossover will be offered to participants in the sham group at 6 months post-treatment. Data will be analyzed using descriptive, linear mixed-effects model and Kaplan-Meier Survival Curve statistics. The proposed research is innovative and important as it uses a robust study design to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an emerging RFA intervention in a prevalent suffering patient population.