SynthesisMedicine2018
Effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency treatment on cervical radicular pain: A 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 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of pulsed radiofrequency combined with nerve block for cervical radiculopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of Diabetes on Post-stroke Recovery: A Systematic Narrative Review.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Pooled it
- Ultrasound-guided high-voltage pulsed radiofrequency versus standard-voltage pulsed radiofrequency in refractory chronic cervical radicular pain randomized clinical trial.Journal of anesthesia · 2025Trial
- The Application of Radiofrequency Waves in Supportive Treatment of Temporomandibular Disorders.Pain research & management · 2020Trial
- Research Progress on Low-Temperature Plasma Nucleoplasty and Targeted Radiofrequency for Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy: A Retrospective Review.Pain and therapy · 2026Review
- Fluoroscopy- and Ultrasound-Guided Intra-Articular Pulsed Radiofrequency of the Atlanto-Occipital Joint for Chronic Post-Traumatic Neck Pain: A Retrospective Preliminary Case Series.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Effects of Pulsed Radiofrequency Current and Thermal Condition on the Expression of β-Endorphin in Human Monocytic Cells.NeuroSci · 2025Article
- Clinical and radiological comparison of percutaneous cervical nucleoplasty combined with ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency of cervical nerve root for cervical radicular pain: a retrospective, matched-cohort study.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Percutaneous plasma disc decompression through a lower surgical approach for the treatment of cervicogenic headache in patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy: A retrospective cohort study.Biomedical reports · 2024Article
- A Novel Transverse Ultrasound-Guided Approach for Puncturing the Cervical Dorsal Root Ganglion at the Level of Articular Pillar for Radiofrequency Treatment.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- Pulsed Radiofrequency 2 Hz Preserves the Dorsal Root Ganglion Neuron Physiological Ca2+ Influx, Cytosolic ATP Level, Δψm, and pERK Compared to 4 Hz: An Insight on the Safety of Pulsed Radiofrequency in Pain Management [Response to Letter].Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- Pulsed Radiofrequency Decreases pERK and Affects Intracellular CaJournal of pain research · 2023Article
- Efficacy of Radiofrequency as Therapy and Diagnostic Support in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Effect of monopolar capacitive resistive radiofrequency in treating stress urinary incontinence: A pilot randomized control trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Multicentre, clinical trial of burst spinal cord stimulation for neck and upper limb pain NU-BURST: a trial protocol.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021Article
- [Interdisciplinary position paper: the value of radiofrequency denervation in the treatment of chronic pain].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2021Review
- Dorsal root ganglion pulsed radiofrequency treatment for chronic cervical radicular pain: a retrospective review of outcomes in fifty-nine cases.Irish journal of medical science · 2020Review
- A Comprehensive Algorithm for Management of Neuropathic Pain.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2019Review
- Management of neuropathic pain induced by cubital tunnel syndrome using pulsed radiofrequency: Two case reports.Medicine · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCervical radicular pain is a challenging medical problem in terms of therapeutic management. Recently, pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) stimulation on the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) has been used to control several types of chronic pain. However, its effect on cervical radicular pain is still not well studied. To conduct a meta-analysis of available clinical studies on PRF treatment in patients with cervical radicular pain induced by cervical spine disease that was not responsive to other conservative treatments.
methodsA comprehensive database search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS. We included studies published up to August 31, 2017, that fulfilled our inclusion and exclusion criteria. The pain degrees measured using visual analog scale (VAS) at pretreatment and after PRF on the DRG were collected for the meta-analysis. The Cochrane Collaboration's Handbook and Newcastle-Ottawa scale were used for the methodological quality assessments of included studies. The meta-analysis was performed using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis Version 2.
resultsA total of 67 patients from one RCT study, 2 prospective observational studies, and one retrospective study were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled data of the 4 included studies showed that overall VAS after the PRF treatment was significantly reduced (P ≤ .001). In the subgroup analysis according to follow-up evaluation time points, the pain was significantly reduced at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the procedure (2 weeks: P = .02; 1, 3, and 6 months: P < .001).
conclusionAccording to the results of the meta-analysis, the use of PRF on the DRG is effective for alleviating cervical radicular pain, which was unresponsive to oral medications, physical therapy, or epidural steroid injection.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.