ArticleBrain & spine2026
Adjunct facet radiofrequency ablation accelerates early recovery trajectories after lumbar Decompression: A prospective matched feasibility study.
Article in Brain & spine, 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
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: While lumbar decompression is the standard of care for neurogenic claudication, adequate neural decompression does not address degenerative facet arthrosis, often resulting in residual axial pain that impedes early mobilization. The utility of adjunct facet radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in optimizing the immediate postoperative experience remains under-investigated. Research question: We therefore hypothesized that adjunct RFA improves early recovery trajectories, observable only through high-frequency monitoring. Methods: Forty patients undergoing decompression were included; 20 received adjunct bilateral facet RFA based on clinical indication. A post hoc 1:1 matched cohort (age, sex, operated levels) was created for analysis. Early recovery was tracked using a digital well-being scale (0-100) recorded every 48 h for 24 days. Trajectories were quantified using also standard disability (ODI) and mood (PHQ-9) assessments. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable (mean age 74.8 vs 75.4 years; baseline ODI 46.7 vs 46.4; baseline PHQ-9 8.8 vs 8.2). Early postoperative well-being was higher in the decompression + RFA group (mean 76.1 ± 9.4) than decompression alone (46.6 ± 11.3), with a paired mean difference of 29.5 points (95% CI, 22.3-36.6; p < 0.001). In mixed-effects trajectory modeling, adjunct RFA was associated with a higher estimated day-0 well-being score (+13.1; p = 0.005) and a steeper recovery slope (group×time +2.49 points/day; p < 0.001). Postoperative ODI was lower with adjunct RFA (26.1 vs 33.4; p = 0.20), while ODI change and PHQ-9 change were similar between groups. Discussion and conclusions: Adjunct facet RFA significantly optimizes early postoperative well-being and accelerates recovery trajectories following lumbar decompression. By leveraging high-frequency monitoring, this study identifies benefits that standard follow-up intervals fail to capture.
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.