ArticleACR open rheumatology2022
Transarterial Embolization for the Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review of Indications, Safety, and Efficacy.
Article in ACR open rheumatology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and safety of manual therapy for knee osteoarthritis: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Periarticular Embolization as an Alternative Treatment for Surgery-Ineligible Patients with Hip Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Comparative Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- HipE Study-Hip Embolization for Pain Control in Hip Osteoarthritis and Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome: 12 Months Follow-Up.Cardiovascular and interventional radiology · 2026Article
- [Transarterial periarticular embolization as a treatment option for chronic joint pain].Radiologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Clinical efficacy and safety of interventional embolization combined with early rehabilitation in the management of post-traumatic shoulder periarthritis.BMC surgery · 2026Article
- A Stepwise Endovascular Approach to the Treatment of Refractory Plantar Fasciitis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Transcatheter arterial microembolization (TAME) in foot and ankle pathologies: current indications and future perspectives.Musculoskeletal surgery · 2026Review
- Sheathless microcatheter: a new approach for musculoskeletal arterial embolization.CVIR endovascular · 2026Article
- Transarterial embolization in the management of chronic shoulder pain: clinical evidence and emerging therapeutic role.Frontiers in radiology · 2026Review
- The use of the ipsilateral dorsalis pedis artery approach for transarterial embolization in symptomatic chronic plantar fasciitis: a case report.Journal of surgical case reports · 2025Article
- Transarterial Embolization for Refractory Non-Cervical-Origin Interscapular Pain Following Ultrasound-Guided Injection: A Retrospective Feasibility Study.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Enhancing Transradial Transarterial Microembolization Efficiency and Patient Satisfaction with Oral Benzodiazepine Premedication.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Anatomic Considerations for Osteoarthritis Treatment Strategies.Seminars in interventional radiology · 2025Review
- Severe complications following transarterial microembolization for a micro arterio-venous fistula in a patient with chronic venous ulcer: a case report.Frontiers in radiology · 2025Article
- Angioembolization in the management of joint pain: current concepts.Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Review
- Challenges and complications and their management of the transarterial microembolization for chronic musculoskeletal pain.European radiology · 2024Review
- Musculoskeletal Embolization Innovation: Keys to Highlighting Neovessels and Advanced Perspectives.Cardiovascular and interventional radiology · 2024Article
- Early outcomes of transcatheter arterial embolization using imipenem/cilastatin for plantar fasciitis refractory to conservative therapy.The British journal of radiology · 2024Article
- Short-term clinical outcomes of transarterial embolization for symptomatic hand osteoarthritis refractory to conservative treatment.Diagnostic and interventional radiology (Ankara, Turkey) · 2024Article
- Added value of pre-procedural magnetic resonance angiography in transarterial embolization for refractory musculoskeletal pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe study objective was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial "embolization" (TAE) in the treatment of chronic "musculoskeletal pain" refractory to standard therapy.
methodsPubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for original research articles evaluating TAE in patients with musculoskeletal conditions from database inception to January 21, 2020. Search terms employed were as follows: "embolization", "pain", "knee osteoarthritis", joint replacement, epicondylitis, tenderness, inflammation, WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index), microspheres, Embozene, geniculate artery, neovascularity, transcatheter, embolic, imipenem/cilastatin sodium, angiogenesis, and "musculoskeletal". Studies involving particle "embolization" for painful musculoskeletal conditions were included. Studies of TAE for hemarthrosis or malignancy-related "musculoskeletal pain" were excluded.
resultsThe primary search yielded 1,099 sources; 7 articles and 4 abstracts were included for data extraction. All were cohorts or case series, with low risk of bias and moderate to poor level of evidence. Heterogeneity between studies was high, precluding meta-analysis. The reviewed studies reported the safety and efficacy of TAE for the treatment of "knee osteoarthritis"; adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder; tendinopathy/enthesopathy of the knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle; and cervical myalgia. All TAEs were reported as technically successful without major complications or subsequent serious adverse events, including no reported osteonecrosis, cutaneous ulceration, limb ischemia, cartilage degeneration, or myotendinous injury. TAE significantly reduced pain and improved function for all of the treated conditions, with durable response up to 24 months post procedure.
conclusionTAE appears to be a safe and effective treatment for some types of chronic refractory "musculoskeletal pain". Randomized placebo-controlled studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
Identifiers
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.