scholarly journals Fluoroscopic Guided Radiofrequency of Genicular Nerves for Pain Alleviation in Chronic Knee Osteoarthritis: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (21;1) ◽  
pp. 169-177
Author(s):  
Dr. Emad Z. Kamel

Background: Nowadays, pain and disability due to chronic knee arthritis is a very common problem in middle aged people. A lot of modalities for management are available, including conservative analgesics and up to surgical interventions. Radiofrequency ablation of genicular nerves is assumed to be an effective less invasive and safe pain alleviation modality. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of fluoroscopic guided radiofrequency neurotomy of the genicular nerves for alleviation of chronic pain and improvement of function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Study Design: A single-blind randomized controlled trial. Setting: Pain management unit, and Rheumatology and Rehabilitation clinics of Assiut University hospitals, Assiut, Egypt. Methods: This study involved 60 patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis. Radiofrequency neurotomy of the genicular nerves was done for 30 patients (Group A) while the other 30 patients (Group C) received conventional analgesics only. The outcome measures included visual analog scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Index (WOMAC), and Likert scale for patient satisfaction in the 2nd week,3rd, and 6th months. Results: There were significant differences regarding the VAS in the 2nd week, 3rd, and 6th months between the 2 groups, and a significant difference in total WOMAC index in the 6th month only. There were significant changes when comparing pretreatment values with the values during the whole follow-up period with regard to the VAS and total WOMAC index in both groups. Limitations: No diagnostic block was done prior to radiofrequency. We recommend the use of such a technique on a larger number of OA patients, with a longer follow-up period. Conclusion: RF can ameliorate pain and disability in chronic knee osteoarthritis in a safe and effective manner. Keywords: Chronic pain, radiofrequency (RF), knee osteoarthritis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 232596712092293
Author(s):  
Johannes Glasbrenner ◽  
Wolf Petersen ◽  
Michael J. Raschke ◽  
Matthias Steiger ◽  
René Verdonk ◽  
...  

Background: Microfracture (MF) is an established operative treatment for small, localized chondral defects of the knee joint. There is evidence from animal studies that matrix augmentation of bone marrow stimulation (m-BMS) can improve the quality of the repair tissue formation. Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic outcome of a matrix made of polyglycolic acid and hyaluronan as compared with a conventional MF technique. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: Patients between the ages of 18 and 68 years who had an articular femoral cartilage defect of 0.5 to 3 cm2 in the weightbearing area of the femoral condyles with indication for MF were included in this study. Patients were randomized and treated with either MF or m-BMS with Chondrotissue. Defect filling, as assessed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), at postoperative 12 weeks was defined as the primary outcome measure, with follow-up MRI at weeks 54 and 108. Follow-up data were also collected at 12, 54, and 108 weeks after surgery and included patient-reported clinical scores: visual analog scale for pain, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), International Knee Documentation Committee score, and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. Results: MRI scans confirmed cartilage repair tissue formation in both groups 12 weeks after treatment. There was no significant difference between the m-BMS and MF groups in the percentage of defect filling at 12, 54, and 108 weeks postoperatively. No significant difference was found in terms of patient-reported clinical scores. Both groups showed significant improvement in 4 KOOS subscales—Pain, Activities of Daily Living, Sport and Recreation, and Quality of Life—at 54 and 108 weeks after treatment. Conclusion: This is the first randomized controlled trial comparing m-BMS with a polyglycolic acid matrix with hyaluronan with MF. The use of the Chondrotissue implant in m-BMS has been proven to be a safe procedure. No difference was found between m-BMS and MF in terms of patient-reported outcome scores and MRI assessment until postoperative 2 years. Long-term follow-up studies including histological assessment are desirable for further investigation. Registration: EUCTR2011-003594-28-DE (EU Clinical Trials Register).


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline A. Smith ◽  
Caroline A. Crowther ◽  
Oswald Petrucco ◽  
Justin Beilby ◽  
Hannah Dent

We examined the effectiveness of acupuncture to reduce the severity and intensity of primary dysmenorrhea. A randomized controlled trial compared acupuncture with control acupuncture using a placebo needle. Eligible women were aged 14–25 years with a diagnosis of primary dysmenorrhea. Women received nine sessions of the study treatment over 3 months. The primary outcomes were menstrual pain intensity and duration, overall improvement in dysmenorrhea symptoms and reduced need for additional analgesia, measured at 3, 6 and 12 months from trial entry. A total of 92 women were randomly assigned to the intervention (acupuncture and control ). At 3 months although pain outcomes were lower for women in the acupuncture group compared with the control group, there was no significant difference between groups. Women receiving acupuncture reported a small reduction in mood changes compared with the control group, relative risk (RR) 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53–1.00, . Follow-up at 6 months found a significant reduction in the duration of menstrual pain in the acupuncture group compared with the control group, mean difference –9.6, 95% CI –18.9 to –0.3, , and the need for additional analgesia was significantly lower in the acupuncture group compared with the control group, RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49–0.96, , but the follow-up at 12 months found lack of treatment effect. To conclude, although acupuncture improved menstrual mood symptoms in women with primary dysmenorrhea during the treatment phase, the trend in the improvement of symptoms during the active phase of treatment, and at 6 and 12 months was non-significant, indicating that a small treatment effect from acupuncture on dysmenorrhea may exist. In the study, acupuncture was acceptable and safe, but further appropriately powered trials are needed before recommendations for clinical practice can be made.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Elsaqa ◽  
Mahmoud A. Karim ◽  
Walid Ebeid ◽  
Mohamed Youness

Objectives: The objectives of the study was to compare the effectiveness of 1 day versus 3 days post-operative antibiotic prophylaxis in decreasing surgical site infection (SSI) rate after arthroplasty surgery. Methods: A prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted over 1 year, in Cairo University Hospitals. The study included adult patients, who were scheduled for arthroplasty. Sixty patients were divided into two groups, 30 patients in each. The first group of patients received cefazolin for 1 day postoperatively (1-day group) and the other group for 3 days postoperatively (3-days group). Patients were randomized using the sealed opaque envelope method. Results: There were 32 females and 28 males. The mean patient age was 52 years (range 20–85 years). Wound infection developed in four cases (one case from the 1-day group and three cases from the 3-days group). All infections occurred within the early post-operative period, and completely resolved after proper management. Correlating the SSI to the type of surgery, operative time, the associated medical co-morbidities, and the duration of antimicrobial prophylaxis was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study suggests that there is no significant difference in the prevalence of SSI between 1 day and 3 days of antimicrobial prophylaxis after primary joint arthroplasty within the average post-operative follow-up period of 3 months.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Qi Wang ◽  
Hui Lv ◽  
Zhao-Tian Sun ◽  
Jian-Feng Tu ◽  
Yong-Wei Feng ◽  
...  

Objective. To explore the feasibility of evaluating the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture versus sham electroacupuncture for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Method. A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted at a teaching hospital in Beijing. A total of 30 patients with KOA (Kellgren grade II or III) were randomly allocated to an eight-week treatment of either electroacupuncture or sham electroacupuncture. Patients and outcome assessors were blinded to group allocation. The primary outcome was the proportion of responders achieving at least 1.14 seconds decrease in the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) at week eight compared with baseline. The secondary outcomes included the knee range of motion, the knee extensor and flexor muscle strength, Lequesne index, 9-step stair-climb test (9-SCT), and TUG. Results. Of 30 patients allocated to two groups, 27 (90%) completed the study. The proportion of responders was 53.3% (8 of 15) for electroacupuncture group and 26.7% (4 of 15) for sham electroacupuncture group by the intention-to-treat analysis (P=0.264). There was no statistically significant difference in TUG between the two groups at eight weeks (P=0.856). The compliance rate measured according to patients who conformed to the protocol and had received treatments ≥20 times was 93.3% (28 of 30). The dropout rate was 20% (3 of 15). Adverse effects were not reported in the study. Conclusion. Our research demonstrated that further evaluation of the effectiveness of electroacupuncture versus sham electroacupuncture was feasible and safe for patients with KOA. Whether or not the electroacupuncture can improve the physical functions of knee joint, expand the knee range of motion, and increase the extensor and flexor muscle strength more significantly than sham electroacupuncture, future studies can be designed with larger sample size, randomization design and less biases. This trial is registered with NCT03366363.


2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenchen Wang ◽  
Christopher H Schmid ◽  
Patricia L Hibberd ◽  
Robert Kalish ◽  
Ronenn Roubenoff ◽  
...  

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