Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37407279›Full record

Trial reportRegional anesthesia and pain medicine2024

Cooled radiofrequency ablation versus standard medical management for chronic sacroiliac joint pain: a multicenter, randomized comparative effectiveness study.

Steven P Cohen, Leonardo Kapural, Lynn Kohan, Sean Li, Robert W Hurley, Richard Vallejo, Yashar Eshraghi, Pradeep Dinakar, Shravani Durbhakula, Douglas P Beall and 6 more

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Regional anesthesia and pain medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
5.1field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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.

NCT03601949 nacompletednot on this map

A Prospective, Multi-center, Randomized, Assessor Blind, Controlled Study Comparing Lateral Branch Cooled Radiofrequency Denervation to Conservative Therapy as Treatment for Sacroiliac Joint Pain in a Military and Civilian Population

TypeinterventionalSponsorAvanos MedicalRan2018 to 2022Enrolled210ConditionsSacroiliac Joint PainArmsSInergy Cooled Radiofrequency, Medical Management
NCT07309731 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Impact OF Cooled Versus Thermal Radiofrequency Denervation In Management Of Chronic Lumber Facet Joint Pain.Prospective Study.

TypeinterventionalSponsorZagazig UniversityRan2026 to 2026Enrolled100ConditionsLumber Facet Joint Pain(Lower Back Pain ) Relief by Cooled Radiofrequency or Thermal Radiofrequency DenervationArmsthermal radio frequency denervation, Cooled Radiofrequency denervation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Guideline
  3. Management of sacroiliac joint pain: current concepts.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2025
    Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Observational
  9. Article
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

16 authors at 14 institutions in 1 country.

Steven P CohenPain Medicine Division, Department of Anesthesiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA scohen40@jhmi.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-5928-2127
Leonardo KapuralCarolinas Pain Institute, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Lynn KohanDivsion of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesia, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0407-806X
Sean LiPremier Pain Centers, Shrewsbury, New Jersey, USA.
Robert W HurleyWake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6591-9390
Richard VallejoNSPC Millennium Pain Center, Bloomington, Illinois, USA.
Yashar EshraghiOchsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Pradeep DinakarBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Shravani DurbhakulaPain Medicine Division, Department of Anesthesiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5335-8298
Douglas P BeallClinical Investigations, LLC, Edmond, Oklahoma, USA.
Mehul J DesaiInternational Spine, Pain & Performance Center, Washington, DC, USA.
David ReecePhysical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Sandy ChristiansenAnesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0531-0708
Min Ho ChangWomack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA.
Adam J CarinciDepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA.
Michael DePalmaVirginia iSpine Physicians Interventional Spine Care, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Johns Hopkins University · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USCarolinas Pain Institute · USInternational Spine, Pain & Performance · USMillennium Pain Center · USOchsner Medical Center · USOregon Health & Science University · USPain and Rehabilitation Medicine · USPain Management Centers Of America · USUniversity of Rochester Medical Center · USVirginia Spine Research Institute · USWake Forest University · USWalter Reed National Military Medical Center · USWomack Army Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLow back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, with sacroiliac joint pain comprising up to 30% of cases of axial lower back pain. Conservative therapies provide only modest relief. Although placebo-controlled trials show efficacy for sacral lateral branch cooled radiofrequency ablation, there are no comparative effectiveness studies.

methodsIn this randomized, multicenter comparative effectiveness study, 210 patients with clinically suspected sacroiliac joint pain who obtained short-term benefit from diagnostic sacroiliac joint injections and prognostic lateral branch blocks were randomly assigned to receive cooled radiofrequency ablation of the L5 dorsal ramus and S1-S3 lateral branches or standard medical management consisting of pharmacotherapy, injections and integrative therapies. The primary outcome measure was mean reduction in low back pain score on a 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale at 3 months. Secondary outcomes included measures of quality of life and function.

results3 months post-treatment, the mean Numeric Rating Scale pain score for the cooled radiofrequency ablation group was 3.8±2.4 (mean reduction 2.5±2.5) compared with 5.9±1.7 (mean reduction 0.4±1.7) in the standard medical management group (p<0.0001). 52.3% of subjects in the cooled radiofrequency ablation group experienced

conclusionsIn patients with sacroiliac joint pain, cooled radiofrequency ablation provided statistically superior improvements across the spectrum of patient outcomes compared with standard medical management. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03601949.

Indexed as

Chronic PainLow Back PainRadiofrequency AblationArthralgiaHumansQuality of LifeSacroiliac JointTreatment OutcomeAnesthesia, LocalBack PainCHRONIC PAINPain Management

Identifiers

PMID37407279
PMCPMC10958262
OpenAlexW4383196808

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.