ArticleInterventional pain medicine2025
The effectiveness of thoracic medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy using a three-tined electrode: A single-arm, retrospective cohort study.
Article in Interventional pain medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The effectiveness of thoracic medial branch radiofrequency ablation using a three-tined electrode: A real-world cross-sectional cohort study.Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Thoracic medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy (TMBRFN) is used to treat chronic thoracic facet joint pain, but research on its technique and effectiveness is still needed. The current International Pain and Spine Intervention Society Practice Guidelines do not describe a technique for TMBRFN. Objectives: Evaluate the effectiveness of TMBRFN in patients with thoracic facet joint pain. Methods: Single-arm, retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients from two Canadian musculoskeletal pain management clinics who underwent first-time TMBRFN between 2016 and 2022. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with ≥50 % reduction in numerical rating scale (NRS) pain score at 3-months post-procedure. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients who achieved a ≥17-point reduction on the Pain Disability Quality-Of-Life Questionnaire-Spine (PDQQ-S) at 3-months, as well as mean patient-reported percentage pain relief and duration of relief after a successful index TMBRFN in individuals who reported a return of their index symptoms. Results: 18 consecutive patients (50.0 % male; mean age 60.9 ± 15.3 years; mean BMI 30.3 ± 6.9 kg/m Conclusion: Within this cohort, approximately 60 % of patients experienced improvement in pain and disability at 3 months following TMBRFN. Among patients whose index symptoms returned after successful treatment, the average reported pain relief was 70 % for close to 9 months. Larger, prospective studies with long-term outcomes are needed to better elucidate the safety and effectiveness of TMBRFN.
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