SynthesisLa Radiologia medica2024
Efficacy of radiofrequency in lumbar facet joint pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in La Radiologia medica, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06477094 (Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation Using Multi-Tined Electrodes vs. Traditional Electrodes for Treatment of Lumbar Spondylosis), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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.
Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation Using Multi-Tined Electrodes vs. Traditional Electrodes for Treatment of Lumbar Spondylosis
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of Percutaneous Vertebroplasty Versus Placebo and Conservative Treatment in Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Changes in facet orientation may simultaneously affect the potential risk of annulus tears and zygapophyseal joint osteoarthritis: a clinical review and biomechanical simulation.La Radiologia medica · 2025Article
- Assessment of real-world, prospective outcomes in patients treated with lumbar radiofrequency ablation for chronic pain (RAPID).Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Risk factors and treatment strategies for adjacent segment disease following spinal fusion (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2025Review
- Managing lumbar adjacent segment disease: A description of minimally invasive techniques and algorithm.Journal of craniovertebral junction & spineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLumbar facet joint pain (LFJP) is one of the main causes of chronic low back pain (LBP) and can be treated using radiofrequency (RF) sensory denervation. The aim of this work is to analyze the efficacy of RF in LFJP through a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with placebo control. MATERIALS AND
methodsA systematic search was conducted in the Medline (PubMed), Scopus, Web of Science databases, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). The variables of interest were pain, functional status, quality of life (QoL), and global perceived effect (GPE) measured at different time intervals: short (< 3 months), medium (> 3 and < 12 months), and long term (> 12 months).
resultsEight RCTs with placebo control were included. RF showed significant benefits over placebo in pain relief in the short (MD - 1.01; 95% CI - 1.98 to -0.04; p = 0.04), medium (MD - 1.42; 95% CI - 2.41 to - 0.43; p = 0.005), and long term (MD - 1.12; 95% CI - 1.57 to - 0.68; p < 0.001), as well as improvement in functional disability in the short (SMD - 0.94; 95% CI - 1.73 to - 0.14; p = 0.02) and long term (SMD - 0.74; 95% CI - 1.09 to - 0.39; p < 0.001). No statistically significant differences were observed in QoL or quantitative GPE, but benefits for RF were observed in dichotomous GPE in the medium (OR 0.19; 95% CI 0.07-0.52; p = 0.001) and long term (OR 0.22; 95% CI 0.06-0.78; p = 0.02). Subgroup analyses showed more benefits for RF in LBP < 1 year in the short term and in RCTs that did not require performing an MRI for patient selection.
conclusionsRF demonstrated significant improvement in pain and functionality, but the benefits in terms of QoL and GPE are inconclusive. Future clinical trials should investigate the long-term effects of RF, its impact on quality of life, and define appropriate criteria for patient selection.
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