Pulsed Radiofrequency of Genicular Nerves Guided by Ultrasound: Three Different Cases

Pulsed Radiofrequency in Chronic Knee Pain

Authors

  • Ana Isabel Freitas Amorim Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital Central do Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
  • Jorge Rocha Melo Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Centro Hospitalar de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
  • João Bettencourt Abreu Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital Central do Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
  • Marta Filipa Alves Caldeira Department of Pain Medicine, Hospital Central do Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25751/rspa.28049

Keywords:

Chronic Pain, Knee Osteoarthritis, Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of disability and pain. Conservative therapies have shown limited efficacy. Radiofrequency ablation of genicular nerves has proven its effectiveness. Ultrasound is an alternative without radiation and with better visualization of the anatomy. Pulsed radiofrequency (PFR) is a safe option causing neuromodulation of sensitive fibres without nerve damage. Three patients with chronic knee pain and different unsuccessful treatments were submitted to ultrasound-guided PRF of genicular nerves.  The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) scores were assessed before and 30 days following the procedure. All patients had a reduction of perceived pain within 30-day reassessment showing improvement of 30-65% in WOMAC and 15-85% in BPI. The relief remained between 1.5 and 9 months, depending on the patient. The results suggest that PRF can be safe, effective and easy to apply in chronic knee pain, on an individual patient basis.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2023-07-04

How to Cite

Freitas Amorim, A. I., Rocha Melo, J., Bettencourt Abreu , J., & Alves Caldeira , M. F. . (2023). Pulsed Radiofrequency of Genicular Nerves Guided by Ultrasound: Three Different Cases: Pulsed Radiofrequency in Chronic Knee Pain. Journal of the Portuguese Society of Anesthesiology, 32(2). https://doi.org/10.25751/rspa.28049

Issue

Vol. 32 No. 2 (2023): Revista da Sociedade Portuguesa de Anestesiologia

Section

Case Report

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Ana Isabel Freitas Amorim, Jorge Rocha Melo, João Bettencourt Abreu , Marta Filipa Alves Caldeira

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Articles are freely available to be read, downloaded and shared from the time of publication.

The RSPA reserves the right to commercialize the article as an integral part of the journal (in the preparation of reprints, for example). The author should accompany the submission letter with a declaration of copyright transfer for commercial purposes.

Articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC).

After publication in RSPA, authors are allowed to make their articles available in repositories of their home institutions, as long as they always mention where they were published.