Radiofrequency Ablation in the Pain Management of Knee Osteoarthritis

Assiut University150 enrolled

Overview

The aim of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of radio frequency thermo-coagulation on the genicular nerve (RFTGN) and intra-articular pulsed radio frequency (IAPRF) for Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) to improve physical activity , range of joint movement , pain intensity and quality of life.

After obtaining the consent from patients and being informed about the study and potential risks , all patients were randomly assigned to the RFTGN, IAPRF, and intraarticular steroid injection (IAS) groups. All procedures were performed under the guidance of C-arm X-ray machine. The observation indicators of this study were the numeric rating scale (NRS), Oxford knee scale (OKS), and perceived global effect (GPE). The time points for the assessment were 1-week, 1-month, 3-months, 6-months and 9-months after the treatment.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

150

Conditions

Knee Osteoarthritis

Interventions

Radio-frequency ablationDEVICE

Radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the genicular nerves

Intra-articular steroidsDRUG

Intra-articular steroids for Knee osteoarthritis

Pulsed Radio-frequencyDEVICE

Intraarticular Pulsed Radiofrequency of the knee

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 70 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

* Inclusion Criteria: 1. patients diagnosed with KOA based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria 2. age 18-70 years 3. grade 2 or 3 KOA based on the Kellgren-Lawrence classification 4. patients who did not respond to conservative treatment (physiotherapy, oral NSAIDs, and/or intraarticular injections of hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid) for 3 months 5. duration of knee pain ≥ 3 months 6. numeric rating scale (NRS) ≥ 5 points within 24 h prior to admission. * Exclusion Criteria: 1. grade 1 or 4 KOA based on the Kellgren-Lawrence classification 2. severe liver, kidney, cardiovascular, and respiratory disease 3. abnormal blood coagulation 4. skin infections in the puncture region 5. patients who previously underwent knee arthroscopy, TKA, RFTGN, or IAPRF 6. mental disorders or inability to complete the follow-up observational form 7. patients with bilateral knee pain.

Locations (1)

Assiut University Hospital

Asyut, Egypt

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Numeric rating scale (NRS)

Using the numerical rating score , a score from ( 0 to 10 ) for evaluation of pain intensity. The 11-point numeric scale ranges from '0' representing one pain extreme (e.g. "no pain") to '10' representing the other pain extreme (e.g. "pain as bad as you can imagine" or "worst pain imaginable").