ArticleInterventional pain medicine2025
Reddit users' perspectives on radiofrequency ablation: A data analysis.
Article in Interventional pain medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: Patients suffering from chronic pain use online platforms, such as Reddit, to engage in personal exchanges while maintaining anonymity. Analysis of comments and questions posted on these online forums provide unique insight into conversations that patients may be having outside of the physician's office regarding pain-relief procedures, specifically radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Materials and methods: Using the Python Reddit Application Programming Interface Wrapper, we identified and screened Reddit users' posts. Analyzed data was organized in a spreadsheet from relevant threads. Results: A comprehensive analysis was conducted on a total of 142 threads, encompassing 1676 comments and sub-comments from four forums. The authors claimed to be patients in most threads (n = 137), with more negative (n = 32) than positive (n = 7) threads due to pain improvement expectations and insurance issues. Categorically, eleven users would recommend RFA against nine who wouldn't. Out of 577 relevant comments, the majority addressed pain (n = 405). Among them, 187 comments mentioned pain improvement after RFA, while 130 reported no improvement, in a few cases, patients blamed their physicians (n = 4). Twenty-nine comments referred to medial branch block, with five expressing negative opinions. Ninety-six comments centered around duration of pain relief, varying from 4 days to 36 months, and it was shorter than expected in fifteen cases. Adverse events (n = 36) such as arachnoiditis, headaches, itching, and worsening pain were mentioned. Additionally, some comments discussed pain experienced during the procedure (n = 21). Other comments included inquiries regarding local atrophy, its potential impact on spinal balance, and whether RFA could potentially exacerbate a degenerative process despite providing pain relief. Conclusions: This Reddit analysis offered valuable insights into the patients' perspective on RFA for chronic pain relief, including unusual concerns. Our findings are limited by the platform's anonymous nature, selection bias towards negative experiences and vulnerability to external manipulation. Despite these constraints, by understanding what patients may be reading about the experiences of others undergoing these procedures, physicians may engage in a more informed discussion with patients about RFA.
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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.