ArticleThe spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society2020
Repeat procedures and prescription opioid use after lumbar medial branch nerve radiofrequency ablation in commercially insured patients.
Article in The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Providing Epidemiological Data in Lumbar Spine Imaging Reports Did Not Affect Subsequent Utilization of Spine Procedures: Secondary Outcomes from a Stepped-Wedge Randomized Controlled Trial.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2021Trial
- Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation of the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve for Chronic Refractory Meralgia Paresthetica.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Review
- The effectiveness of lumbar medial branch radiofrequency ablation using a three-tined electrode: A real-world cross-sectional cohort study.Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- The effectiveness of cervical medial branch radiofrequency ablation using a three-tined electrode: A real-world cross-sectional cohort study.Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Reply to Wang et al.'s Reply to "Notable concerns in methodology and conclusions of the Wang et al. Meta-analysis in BMJ by the American Academy of Pain Medicine" by Schuster et al.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Assessment of real-world, prospective outcomes in patients treated with lumbar radiofrequency ablation for chronic pain (RAPID).Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Potential Cost Savings with 60-day Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Treatment in Chronic Axial Low Back Pain.Pain and therapy · 2024Article
- The effect of lumbar medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy on cobb angle progression in individuals with adult scoliosis compared to natural history: A cross-sectional study.Interventional pain medicine · 2024Article
- Does medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy accelerate degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis compared to natural progression? A cross-sectional cohort study.Interventional pain medicine · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Utilization Patterns of Facet Joint Interventions in Managing Spinal Pain in a Medicare Population.Pain and therapy · 2023Article
- Facet Joint Syndrome: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.Journal of pain research · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeAlthough the effectiveness of medial branch nerve radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for lumbosacral facet pain has been described, little is known regarding patterns of repeat RFA utilization and prescription opioid use afterward.
designRetrospective cohort analysis. PATIENT SAMPLE: Patients undergoing lumbosacral RFA in MarketScan from 2007 to 2016.
methodsThe time until and number of staged RFAs (<180 days after initial RFA) and repeat RFAs (≥180 days after initial RFA), as well as opioid use at 90 and 180 days after RFA were assessed. Survival analyses were employed to estimate subsequent RFA rates, whereas subsequent RFA frequencies were estimated with inverse probability weighting. Repeated measures testing was performed comparing opioid use pre- and post-RFA.
resultsInitial RFAs were identified in 44,936 patients. Staged RFAs were performed in 33.1% of patients. Repeat RFAs through 1, 3, and 7 years were performed for 14.6%, 33.5%, and 45.7% of patients, respectively. Within 3 years, 12.2% of patients underwent one repeat RFA, whereas 13.2% of patients underwent two or more. Post-RFA opioid use was examined in 128,310 patients, 32.2% of whom used opioids pre-RFA. By 180 days post-RFA, 8.1% of patients discontinued opioids and 6.7% started opioids (p<.001). Exclusively examining pre-RFA opioid users, 24.9% stopped filling opioid prescriptions 180 days after RFA.
conclusionsThis study delineates utilization rates of repeat RFA in the commerciall y insured population, with one-third undergoing repeat RFA within 3 years. Additionally, the present data indicate that lumbosacral RFA is associated with reduced filling of opioid prescriptions through 180 days.
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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.