SynthesisMedicine2018
The efficacy and safety of using cooled radiofrequency in treating chronic sacroiliac joint pain: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Radiofrequency Ablation of the Sacroiliac Joint.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Pooled it
- Incidence, diagnosis and management of sacroiliitis after spinal surgery: a systematic review of the literature.Musculoskeletal surgery · 2020Pooled it
- Cooled radiofrequency ablation provides extended clinical utility in the management of chronic sacroiliac joint pain: 12-month follow-up results from the observational phase of a randomized, multicenter, comparative-effectiveness crossover study.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2026Trial
- Cryoneurolysis for the management of chronic pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis; a double-blinded randomized controlled sham trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Trial
- Interventional Pain Procedures: A Narrative Review Focusing on Safety and Complications. Part 3 - Sympathetic and Ganglion-Targeted Techniques.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- American Society of Pain and Neuroscience Best Practice (ASPN) Guideline for the Treatment of Sacroiliac Disorders.Journal of pain research · 2024Review
- Article
- The effectiveness and predictive factors of Sacroiliac Joint Radiofrequency Neurotomy success - A retrospective cohort study.Interventional pain medicine · 2023Article
- Cooled radiofrequency ablation of the sacroiliac joint a retrospective case series.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Ultrasound-guided radiofrequency Ablation for SI joint pain:An observational study.Interventional pain medicine · 2022Article
- Review
- Minimally Invasive and Conservative Interventions for the Treatment of Sacroiliac Joint Pain: A Review of Recent Literature.Orthopedic reviews · 2022Review
- Minimally Invasive and Conservative Interventions for the Treatment of Sacroiliac Joint Pain: A Review of Recent Literature.Orthopedic reviews · 2022Article
- Minimally Invasive Sacroiliac Joint Fusion with Triangular Titanium Implants: Cost-Utility Analysis from NHS Perspective.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCooled radiofrequency procedure is a novel minimally invasive surgical technique and has been occasionally utilized in managing chronic sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain. A meta-analysis was conducted to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of using cooled radiofrequency in treating patients with chronic SIJ pain in terms of pain and disability relief, patients' satisfaction degree as well as complications.
methodsStudies of using cooled radiofrequency procedure in managing SIJ pain were retrieved from Medline and Web of Science according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Quality evaluation was conducted using Cochrane collaboration tool for randomized controlled trials and MINORS quality assessment for noncomparative trials. Statistics were managed using Review Manager 5.3.
resultsTotally 7 studies with 240 eligible patients were enrolled. The overall pooled results demonstrated that pain intensity decreased significantly after cooled radiofrequency procedure compared with that measured before treatment. The mean difference (MD) was 3.81 [95% confidence intervals (95% CIs): 3.29-4.33, P < .001] and 3.78 (95% CIs: 3.31-4.25, P < .001) as measured by the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS), respectively. Disability also relieved significantly after treatment compared with that measured before treatment. The MD was 18.2 (95% CIs: 12.22-24.17, P < .001) as measured by the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Seventy-two percent of the patients presented positive results as measured by the Global Perceived Effect (GPE). The OR was 0.01 (95% CIs: 0.00-0.05, P < .001). Only mild complications were observed in the 7 studies, including transient hip pain, soreness, and numbness.
conclusionCooled radiofrequency procedure can significantly relieve pain and disability with no severe complications, and majority of patients are satisfied with this technique. Thus, it is safe and effective to use this procedure in managing patients with chronic SIJ pain. More high-quality and large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are required to validate our findings. LIMITATIONS: The sample size of the included studies was small and various heterogeneity existed.
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