Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34381612›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of pain2021

Randomized controlled trials between dorsal root ganglion thermal radiofrequency, pulsed radiofrequency and steroids for the management of intractable metastatic back pain in thoracic vertebral body.

Sherry Nabil Fanous, Emad Gerges Saleh, Ekramy Mansour Abd Elghafar, Hossam Zarif Ghobrial

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of pain, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 45% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Interventional Therapies to Treat Cancer Associated Pain.Current treatment options in oncology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Sherry Nabil FanousDepartment of Anaesthesia, ICU and Pain Management, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8051-8376
Emad Gerges SalehDepartment of Anaesthesia, ICU and Pain Management, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Ekramy Mansour Abd ElghafarDepartment of Anaesthesia, ICU and Pain Management, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Hossam Zarif GhobrialDepartment of Anaesthesia, ICU and Pain Management, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Cairo University · EG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBone metastasis is a complication of various cancers causing severe pain. The current modalities for the treatment of metastatic axial pain include pharmacological, surgical and vertebral augmentation techniques, each of which has its own challenges.

objectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF), thermal radiofrequency (RF) and steroids on dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in patients with thoracic axial pain due to vertebral metastasis.

methodsIn this randomized controlled prospective study, 140 patients were assessed for eligibility, of which only 69 fulfilled the criteria. Patients were randomly divided into three equal groups, PRF, RF and steroid.

resultsDuring the assessment of pain using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Opioid consumption using oral Morphine Equivalence (OME) and Analgesic Quantification Algorithm (AQA) - at baseline, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months - 81 patients were assessed for final eligibility, of which 12 were excluded before intervention due to drop-out. The remaining 69 were randomized (mean age: 53.87 ± 10.55, 55.78 ± 7.34 and 59.39 ± 13.72) for PRF, RF and steroid, respectively with no statistical difference. VAS% and ODI% decreased significantly at 3 months in RF group ( DISCUSSION: RF on DRG is the main stay for controlling intractable metastatic pain. PRF is a good alternative.

Indexed as

Back paincancer painchronic paininterventional pain managementintractablepainpain managementthoracic pain

Identifiers

PMID34381612
PMCPMC8339942
OpenAlexW3048448489

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.