Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41566467›Full record

ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2026

Preprocedural superomedial pain localization as a predictor for short-term clinical improvement after cooled radiofrequency ablation in advanced knee osteoarthritis.

Naofumi Hashiguchi, Atsuo Nakamae, Tsukasa Kanda, Kyohei Nakata, Akinori Nekomoto, Koji Takeda, Junya Tsukisaka, Nobuo Adachi

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Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Naofumi HashiguchiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Hearth Sciences, Hiroshima University, 3-2-1, Kasumi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 734-0037, Japan. guchaan@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3029-2599
Atsuo NakamaeDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Hearth Sciences, Hiroshima University, 3-2-1, Kasumi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 734-0037, Japan.
Tsukasa KandaKanda Clinic, 3-20, Inarimachi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 732-0827, Japan.
Kyohei NakataDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Hearth Sciences, Hiroshima University, 3-2-1, Kasumi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 734-0037, Japan.
Akinori NekomotoDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Hearth Sciences, Hiroshima University, 3-2-1, Kasumi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 734-0037, Japan.
Koji TakedaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Hearth Sciences, Hiroshima University, 3-2-1, Kasumi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 734-0037, Japan.
Junya TsukisakaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Hearth Sciences, Hiroshima University, 3-2-1, Kasumi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 734-0037, Japan.
Nobuo AdachiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Hearth Sciences, Hiroshima University, 3-2-1, Kasumi, Minami ward, Hiroshima, 734-0037, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCooled radiofrequency ablation (CRFA) has shown clinical benefits in patients with advanced knee osteoarthritis (OA); however, predictors of treatment response remain limited. Preprocedural pain localization may offer a simple and clinically relevant predictor for enhanced patient selection for CRFA. PURPOSE: To evaluate whether preprocedural superomedial pain localization and overall pain site count are associated with clinical outcomes after CRFA in patients with advanced knee OA.

methodsThis prospective cohort study included 47 patients (54 knees) with Kellgren–Lawrence grade 3 or 4 OA who underwent ultrasound-guided genicular nerve block and standardized CRFA. Pain localization was assessed using an 8-zone knee pain map. The primary outcome was the 3-month change in International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score. Secondary outcomes included Lysholm score, visual analog scale (VAS), and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) domains. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed.

resultsSuperomedial pain, the most common localization (66.7%), was significantly associated with worse baseline IKDC (β = − 8.2, p = 0.02) and KOOS–Pain (β = − 13.9, p = 0.01). However, it was independently associated with greater IKDC improvement after CRFA (β = 9.1, p = 0.02) after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. Total number of pain sites correlated with worse baseline function but not with treatment response.

conclusionsSuperomedial knee pain was independently associated with superior short-term functional improvement following CRFA. These findings support the utility of pain localization as a prognostic tool for patient selection in advanced knee OA.

Indexed as

ArthralgiaOsteoarthritis, KneePain MeasurementRadiofrequency AblationAgedFemaleHumansKnee JointMaleMiddle AgedNerve BlockProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeUltrasonography, InterventionalCooled radiofrequency ablationGenicular nerveKnee osteoarthritisPain localizationPatient-reported outcomes

Identifiers

PMID41566467
PMCPMC12906039

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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.