Radio Frequency Ablation and Pulsed Radiofrequency for Treating Peripheral Neuralgias

Abstract

Purpose of review: Peripheral nerve pain is common among patients with typical management including the use of pain medications, neuropathic agents, steroid injections, and nerve blocks. Additionally, the use of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) can be used in the management of chronic peripheral nerve pain. Previous studies investigating the effectiveness of RFA and PRF, typically case reports, have demonstrated that peripheral nerve RFA and PRF have the potential to provide relief of chronic pain for long duration. Our study aimed at testing efficacy of RFA/PRF for treating peripheral neuralgia. This was a retrospective review. We identified 16 patients who received 17 RFAs/PRFs. Outcomes of interest collected included pain scores before and after procedures, percent improvement in pain after each procedure, and duration of improvement until the time of data collection. In addition, demographic data including age, sex, and nerves involved were collected.

Recent findings: Eleven patients (12 RFAs/PRFs) (80%) reported improvement after their procedure. Pain scores improved significantly from 6.3 ± 2.3 before each procedure to 3.6 ± 2.7 after each procedure (p = 0.003). Eleven patients (12 RFAs/PRFs) reported an average improvement of 60.8% ± 35% after their procedure with an average duration of improvement of 128.8 ± 106.8 days. RFA and PRF can be used to treat chronic peripheral pain after conservative methods fail to do so. Large clinical trials are needed to confirm our finding.

Keywords: Peripheral neuralgia; Pulsed radiofrequency; Radiofrequency ablation.