ArticleRegional anesthesia and pain medicine2020
Physiological and functional responses of water-cooled versus traditional radiofrequency ablation of peripheral nerves in rats.
Article in Regional anesthesia and pain medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Consensus practice guidelines on sacroiliac joint complex pain from a multispecialty, international working group.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2025Guideline
- 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
- Cooled radiofrequency ablation versus standard medical management for chronic sacroiliac joint pain: a multicenter, randomized comparative effectiveness study.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2024Trial
- Cooled radiofrequency ablation of genicular nerves provides 24-Month durability in the management of osteoarthritic knee pain: Outcomes from a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2022Trial
- A pilot morphometric analysis of lumbar vertebrae to identify fluoroscopic biomarkers.Interventional pain medicine · 2026Article
- Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation and Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment for Chronic Lameness Due to Distal Forelimb Disease in Horses: A Pilot Study.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Evaluation of a novel nerve ablation technique to relieve lower back pain: a cadaveric feasibility pilot study.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Water-circulating probes significantly modify lesion length and axon damage in cooled radiofrequency ablations when compared with similar-sized standard radiofrequency probes in rats.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2024Article
- Two-Centre Retrospective Analysis on Selective Sensory Denervation of Shoulder Joint by Means of Cooled Radiofrequency in Chronic Shoulder Pain.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- Development of an ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation technique in the equine cadaveric distal limb: histological findings and potential for treating chronic lameness.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Image-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation for Joint and Back Pain: Rationales, Techniques, and Results.Cardiovascular and interventional radiology · 2023Review
- Article
- Cooled and traditional thermal radiofrequency ablation of genicular nerves in patients with chronic knee pain: a comparative outcomes analysis.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2022Article
- Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for cervical spine (facet) joint pain from a multispecialty international working group.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2022Article
- Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation Provides Prolonged Pain Relief Compared to Traditional Radiofrequency Ablation: A Real-World, Large Retrospective Clinical Comparison from a Single Practice.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- MRI for in vivo Analysis of Ablation Zones Formed by Cooled Radiofrequency Neurotomy to Treat Chronic Joint Pain Across Multiple Axial Spine Sites.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for cervical spine (facet) joint pain from a multispecialty international working group.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesSeveral clinical studies have focused on assessing the effectiveness of different radiofrequency ablation (RFA) modalities in pain management. While a direct head-to-head clinical study is needed, results from independent studies suggest that water-cooled RFA (CRFA) may result in longer lasting pain relief than traditional RFA (TRFA). The primary purpose of this study was, therefore, to investigate in a preclinical model, head-to-head differences between the two RFA technologies.
methodsRFA was performed in a rat sciatic nerve model (n=66) in two groups: (1) TRFA or (2) CRFA. The surgeon was not blinded to the treatment; however, all the physiological endpoints were assessed in a blinded fashion which include histological, MRI, and nerve function assessment via electromyography.
resultsThe energy delivered by the generator for CRFA was significantly higher compared with TRFA. Histological staining of nerves harvested immediately following CRFA exhibited extended length and multiple zones of thermal damage compared with TRFA-treated nerves. MRI scans across 4 weeks following treatment showed edematous/inflammatory zones present for longer times following CRFA. Finally, there was greater attenuation and prolonged loss of nerve function measured via electromyography in the CRFA group.
conclusionsThis study shows that CRFA has greater energy output, as well as more pronounced structural and functional changes elicited on the peripheral nerves compared with TRFA. While these preclinical data will need to be confirmed with a large clinical randomized controlled trial, we are encouraged by the direction that they may have set for those trials.
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