ArticleCureus2026
Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Two-Tined Three-Site Conventional Radiofrequency Ablation of Genicular Nerves for Chronic Knee Pain.
Article in Cureus, 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGenicular nerve radiofrequency ablation (GNRFA) has emerged as an effective therapy for chronic knee pain. Although some studies have evaluated its effectiveness, there is limited real-world data on the long-term patient-reported outcome (PRO) data for GNRFAs.
objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate PROs following conventional GNRFAs performed using two-tined electrodes and the classical three-site technique targeting the superior medial, superior lateral, and inferior medial genicular nerves.
methodsWe performed a retrospective chart review to gather data from consecutive GNRFAs at an academic medical center from 2016 to 2023. Inclusion criteria were all adult patients who received a conventional GNRFA performed using the classical three-site technique using two-tined electrodes. All included subjects were confirmed to have a positive diagnostic response (≥50% Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) reduction) to a previous genicular nerve block. Primary outcomes were NRS pain scores, Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Health, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).
resultsA total of 31 patients underwent 38 GNRFAs. Relative to the pre-procedure baseline, the average NRS reduction post-procedurally was -3.17 during 0-3 months (p<0.0001), -1.31 during 3-6 months (p<0.05), and -1.92 during 6-12 months (p<0.05). Half of all patients maintained pain relief (NRS reduction greater than or equal to a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of -2.0) for 11.17 months (95% CI: 7.29, 13.40). Although there was a positive trend for improvement in the quality-of-life measures, no statistically significant post-procedure improvement or worsening was observed during all time periods for PROMIS Physical Health, PROMIS Mental Health, and PHQ-9. Lastly, a history of depression was associated with treatment failure.
conclusionIn this real-world cohort, conventional GNRFA using the classical three-site technique demonstrated robust short-term pain reduction, and at least half of the cohort maintained clinically meaningful pain improvements for 11 months. For chronic knee pain, GNRFA is a reasonable therapeutic option in appropriately selected patients.
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.