Long-term outcomes of splanchnic radiofrequency ablation for control of chronic abdominal visceral, non-malignant pain.

Background and objectives: Splanchnic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective therapy for the treatment of severe abdominal pain. Although it was first described almost 25 years ago, long-term data on longevity and effectiveness are still lacking. Here, we describe the long-term outcomes of a larger retrospective cohort of patients with chronic non-malignant abdominal pain. Methods: Following Institutional Review Board IRB approval, patient data were collected from our electronic medical records of 52 patients who underwent splanchnic RFA. Data collected included patients' VAS scores, opioid use, and frequency of nausea at baseline and at 1, 6, and 12 months. We summarized data using descriptive statistics for continuous variables. Student's t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests were used. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 54.3 ± 16.3 years (range, 19-87; median, 57.5), and the mean BMI was 29 kg/m Conclusions: The majority of patients experienced long-term benefit from splanchnic nerve RFA for the treatment of chronic non-malignant abdominal pain and associated nausea. Moreover, given the very low rate of mild adverse events RFA of the splanchnic nerves is a safe technique that should be considered as a treatment option in patients with chronic visceral abdominal pain.