Table 3.
Studies demonstrating the effects of PRF on spinal pain conditions
| Studies | Patients and treatments | Results | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Zundert et al.[37] |
18 patients with cervical headache and cervico-brachialgia; PRF-DRG |
13/18 patients >50% pain relief at 8 weeks, at 1 year 6 patients had continuing pain relief; no complications reported |
First documented evidence of PRF treatment in cervical syndromes |
| Van Zundert et al.[16] P, R, DB, RCT, sham controlled |
23 patients with Cervico brachial pain; 11 patients had PRF-DRG and 12 had Sham |
3 months - 82% patients in the PRF-DRG group and 25–33% in the Sham group had successful results (P = 0.02–0.03) |
PRF-DRG may provide pain relief in patients with cervico-brachial pain |
| Tsou et al.[38] Retrospective |
127 patients; group A - back pain without lower limb pain, group B - back pain with lower limb pain |
Successful treatment shown; At 3 months: Group A - 27/45 and Group B - 37/78 patients At 1 year: Group A - 20–45 patients and Group B - 34/74 patients |
Pulsed radiofrequency applied at the L-2 DRG is safe and effective for treating for chronic low-back pain |
| Kroll et al.[22] Prospective, DB, randomised |
50 patients treated with CRF or PRF of lumbar facets, and assessed with VAS, ODI -measured at baseline and 3 months |
No difference in the two groups, however over time the CRF patients showed better scores than PRF |
Effects of PRF may be limited by time when compared to CRF |
| Simopoulous et al.[25] Pilot - prospective RCT |
26 patients with lumbosacral radicular pain grouped to PRF-DRG or PRF-DRG followed by CRF-DRG |
At 2 months 70% of PRF showed significant reduction of pain scores compared to 83% in CRF after PRF, no statistical difference |
PRF-DRG appears to be a good treatment without side effects for lumbosacral radicular pain |
| Lindner et al.[39] Retrospective study |
48 patients with positive diagnostic blockade of lumbar medial branch, had PRF |
21/29 patients with no previous surgery and 5/19 patients with previous surgery showed successful pain relief at 4 months, significant difference in PRF efficacy in between groups (P = 0.0028) |
PRF of lumbar medial branch for facetogenic pain is safe and works well in patients who have not had back surgeries |
| Texiera et al.[40] Prospective, case series |
8 patients with discography confirmed discogenic pain - intradiscal PRF |
Significant drop in NRS scores at 3 months, 4 patients were reportedly pain free after 12 months |
Intradiscal PRF merits a controlled prospective study |
| Chao et al.[15] |
154 patients with cervical (n = 49), lumbar (n = 105) radicular pain due to herniated disc and FBSS |
At 3 months 27/49 in cervical and 52/105 in lumbar patients had pain relief >50% |
Application of PRF is a safe and useful intervention for cervical and lumbar radicular pain |
| Texiera et al.[14] Retrospective study |
13 patients with lumbosacral radicular pain due to herniated disc had PRF-DRG |
Significant pain reduction (P = 0.01), was found in 11 patients from 4 weeks lasting up to 15 months, only 1 patient had a small area of low sensation at L3 area in the last follow-up |
PRF may potentially be a viable alternative for epidural steroid injections in the treatment of radicular pain |
| Shabat et al.[41] Retrospective |
28 patients with chronic neuropathic pain of spinal origin had PRF-DRG |
19 patients had successful pain relied lasting for an year, with no reported complication |
PRF is a safe and an effective procedure for patients who suffer from chronic neuropathic pain from spinal origin |
| Tekin et al.[23] Prospective RCT |
60 patients grouped with clinical diagnosis of facet joint pain - grouped into LA, PRF, and CRF groups |
Pain relief in PRF and CRF better, however in the follow-up period the relief was not sustained in the PRF group |
Pain relief with PRF is comparable to CRF, but the duration of effect is shorter |
| Mikeladze et al.[42] Retrospective study | 114 patients with cervical and lumbar pain, responsive to diagnostic medial branch block-PRF | 68 patients had significant pain relief lasting at least 4 months | PRF of medial branch is a successful intervention in selected patients with no complications |