The Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation for Pain Management in Patients with Pre-Existing Hardware at the Site of Ablati
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation for Pain Management in Patients with Pre-Existing Hardware at the Site of Ablation Alaa Abd-Elsayed . Meghan Hughes . Emily Narel . Michael D. Loebertman
Received: July 29, 2020 / Accepted: September 23, 2020 Ó The Author(s) 2020
ABSTRACT Introduction: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an interventional procedure that provides pain relief by using thermal energy to disrupt peripheral nerves carrying nociceptive signals back to the central nervous system. In the past, having implantable hardware at the planned site of RFA was considered to confer increased risk of adverse outcomes given the theoretical risk of heating of the hardware components. The present study examines patient outcomes to determine whether the efficacy of RFA was affected by the presence of implanted hardware directly at the site.
Methods: This was a retrospective case–control study that included 52 patients who received RFA procedures in the presence of hardware at the site of RFA and a control group of 170 patients who received RFA procedures in the absence of hardware. Data were collected from electronic medical records entered into an Excel sheet and then analyzed using SPSS version 22. Outcomes tested included post procedure pain scores, percent, and duration of improvement, if any. Results: We found no statistically significant difference in measured outcomes between either group. Conclusions: This study provides some evidence in support of the theory that RFA procedures performed on patients with pre-existing hardware have similar efficacy when compared to their hardware-free counterparts. Keywords: Chronic pain; Radiofrequency ablation
A. Abd-Elsayed (&) Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA e-mail: [email protected] M. Hughes E. Narel M. D. Loebertman School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
Hardware;
Pain;
Pain Ther
INTRODUCTION Key Summary Points This study examines the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation, a commonly utilized pain management procedure, in the population of patients with implanted hardware such as joint replacements. This study provides further guidance for treatment of pain that was not relieved by the use of implantable hardware. Our hypothesis was that implantable hardware would have no effect on the efficacy of the radiofrequency ablation procedure. We saw no difference in pain reduction or in relief duration between patients with and patients without implantable hardware near the site of radiofrequency ablation. Through this study, we have demonstrated that radiofrequency ablation is as effective in patients who have been previously treated with implantable hardware as it is in those without such hardware. Further study is needed with a larger number of patients, but this study serves as a starting point for further research into this procedure to provide pain relief to a patient population that is lacking safe and effective options.
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