Superior Pain Relief Over 6 Months with CRFA vs Corticosteroid Injection for Knee OA Pain .
Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, Crossover Clinical Trial Comparing the Safety and Effectiveness of Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation With Corticosteroid Injection in the Management of Knee Pain From Osteoarthritis
Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2018 Jan; 43(1): 84–91.One hundred and fifty-one patients with pain from knee osteoarthritis (OA) were randomized to receive cooled radiofrequency ablation (CRFA) of the genicular nerves (n=76) or a single intra-articular corticosteroid injection (n=75). The primary outcome of interest was the proportion of patients who reported a 50% or greater reduction in pain score on a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) from baseline. Secondary outcomes of interest included knee function as measured with the Oxford Knee Score (OKS), patient perception of treatment effect as measured by the Global Perceived Effect (GPE) score, and opioid and non-opioid analgesic use. Outcomes were assessed at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months post-treatment. Statistically significantly favourable NRS pain scores and OKS pain scores were observed in favour of the CRFA group compared to the corticosteroid group at all time points (p<0.05 for all). As well, 74% of patients in the CRFA group, compared to 16% of patients in the corticosteroid group, reported a 50% or greater improvement from baseline in NRS pain scores at 6 months (p<0.0001). Moreover, GPE scores were statistically significantly in favour of the CRFA group at 3 and 6 months post-treatment (p<0.0001 for both). Mean daily opioid consumption was not statistically significantly different between groups (p>0.05 for all); however, the change in non-opioid drug use at 6 months was statistically significantly in favour of the CRFA group (p=0.02). Finally, 61 and 65 adverse events were reported in the CRFA and corticosteroid group, respectively.
Unlock the Full ACE Report
You have access to 4 more FREE articles this month.
Click below to unlock and view this ACE Reports
Unlock Now
Critical appraisals of the latest, high-impact randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews in orthopaedics
Access to OrthoEvidence podcast content, including collaborations with the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, interviews with internationally recognized surgeons, and roundtable discussions on orthopaedic news and topics
Subscription to The Pulse, a twice-weekly evidence-based newsletter designed to help you make better clinical decisions
Exclusive access to original content articles, including in-house systematic reviews, and articles on health research methods and hot orthopaedic topics