ArticleAnesthesiology2026
Cryoneurolysis Thermal Graphs: In Vivo Descriptive Data from Ultrasound-guided Percutaneous Thermocouples.
Article in Anesthesiology, 2026. 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
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCryoneurolysis provides analgesia by reversibly ablating peripheral nerves using gas-induced exceptionally low temperature. The desired therapeutic temperature is between approximately -20°C and -100°C. Warmer temperatures can induce a neuropraxia that may itself induce pain; and colder temperatures can result in permanent nerve injury. Therefore, it is imperative that the target nerve reach but not exceed the therapeutic window.
methodsA convenience sample of participants undergoing mastectomy (n = 3) received a high-thoracic paravertebral nerve block, while subjects being treated for traumatic rib fractures (n = 3) did not. All participants had ultrasound-guided cryoneurolysis of multiple intercostal nerves with a percutaneous thermocouple inserted approximately 3 mm adjacent to the cryoprobe shaft. The returning argon gas and tissue temperatures were correlated. Due to the limited sample size, the data are presented and not statistically analyzed.
resultsAlthough in all cases (31 nerves) the returning gas was ultimately colder than -80°C, the tissue adjacent to the probe did not reach -20°C after 3 and 5 min in 71% (n = 5) and 42% (n = 10) of treatments, respectively. The coldest mean temperature in adjacent tissue was 60°C warmer than the returning gas with out a nerve block, and 95°C warmer with a concurrent nerve block. When treating adjacent intercostal nerves, the gas temperature remained unchanged, while the tissue became colder with each consecutive treatment.
conclusionsDuring percutaneous cryoneurolysis, the temperature of tissue is frequently deceptively warm relative to the returning gas and tissue frequently does not reach an adequately cold temperature; prolonging gas treatment from 3 to 5 min improves the success of reaching therapeutic temperatures; the presence of a peripheral nerve block appears to lessen the chance of reaching therapeutic temperatures; and caution is warranted when treating consecutive intercostal nerves as tissue temperature may decrease with each level.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.