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. 2023 Mar 21:16:1005-1015.
doi: 10.2147/JPR.S395420. eCollection 2023.

Effectiveness and Safety of Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation Treatment Guided by Computed Tomography for Infraorbital Neuralgia Following Failed Conservative Treatment: A Retrospective Study

Zhe Sun #  1 , Lu Liu #  1 , Hongbing Liu  2 , Fang Luo  1   2
Affiliations

Effectiveness and Safety of Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation Treatment Guided by Computed Tomography for Infraorbital Neuralgia Following Failed Conservative Treatment: A Retrospective Study

Zhe Sun et al. J Pain Res. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of CT-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFT) for the treatment of infraorbital neuralgia following the failure of conservative management.

Patients and methods: This was a single center, retrospective study which included 196 patients between the ages of 37 to 90 years, who suffered from infraorbital neuralgia, and had undergone CT-guided RFT treatment. The medical records of these patients were retrieved between January 7, 2015 and February 5, 2020, and the patients were followed up for 2 years. Follow-up outcomes included Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scores, dosage of carbamazepine, time to take effect, status of recurrence and side effects. The effective rate was defined as the percentage of patients with postoperative NRS score reduction of >50%.

Results: The effective rates were 92.9%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 93.4% and 85.7% on the same day, week 1, month 1, month 6, year 1 and year 2 after RFT, respectively. After RFT, the postoperative NRS scores and dosage of carbamazepine were significantly reduced than those preoperatively (P < 0.05). The median time to take effect was zero day. Twenty-eight patients with recurrence underwent RFT again and achieved complete pain relief. All patients experienced numbness in the infraorbital nerve innervation area and the numbness scores gradually decreased over time.

Conclusion: CT-guided RFT treatment may be an effective and safe technique for pain relief in patients with infraorbital neuralgia following failed results from conservative treatment.

Keywords: effectiveness; infraorbital neuralgia; radiofrequency thermocoagulation; retrospective study; safety.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Operative procedure of puncturing the infraorbital foramen. (A) Localization for puncture. (B) The tip of the trocar entering the ipsilateral infraorbital foramen as shown in axial CT scan of maxillary sinus.(C) The needle entering the ipsilateral infraorbital foramen as shown in sagittal CT scan of maxillary sinus. (D) The needle entering the ipsilateral infraorbital foramen as shown in 3-D reconstruction of spiral CT. White marks indicate the needle in the infraorbital foramen.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Postoperative NRS scores at each follow-up time point.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Postoperative dosage of carbamazepine at each follow-up time point.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Postoperative complications.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Facial numbness score at each follow-up time point.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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