Comparison of Efficacy among Three Radiofrequency Ablation Techniques for Treating Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Shih-Hsiang Chou, Po-Chih Shen, Cheng-Chang Lu, Zi-Miao Liu, Yin-Chun Tien, Peng-Ju Huang, Cheng-Ming Chou and Chia-Lung Shih
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Shih-Hsiang Chou: Department of Orthopedics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Po-Chih Shen: Department of Orthopedics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Cheng-Chang Lu: Department of Orthopedics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Zi-Miao Liu: College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Yin-Chun Tien: Department of Orthopedics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Peng-Ju Huang: Department of Orthopedics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Cheng-Ming Chou: Department of Orthopedics, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi City 600, Taiwan
Chia-Lung Shih: Clinical Medicine Research Center, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi City 600, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-14

Abstract: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was first introduced for treating knee osteoarthritis (OA) in 2010 and has emerged as a minimally invasive treatment option. Three RFA techniques have been adopted for treating knee OA, including conventional, pulsed, and cooled RFA. However, the efficacy among different RFA techniques in the treatment of knee OA is still unclear. Three electronic databases were systematically searched for relevant articles, including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. A meta-analysis of articles that investigated the use of RFA techniques in the treatment of knee OA was conducted to pool the effect size in pain before and after treatment. A total of 20 eligible articles (including 605 patients) were included for our meta-analysis. After treatment, the patients had significant improvements in pain for all three RFA techniques when compared with the baseline level for the 1, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups ( p < 0.00001). However, there were no significant differences in the efficacy among the three RFA techniques for all follow-up visits ( p > 0.05). The three RFA techniques demonstrated a significant improvement in pain for up to 6 months after treatment. Comparing the efficacy of the three RFA techniques in the treatment of knee OA, our results showed that no significant differences in pain relief among the three RFA techniques were observed at the 1-, 3-, 6, and 12-month follow-up visits.

Keywords: cooled radiofrequency; conventional radiofrequency; pulsed radiofrequency; knee osteoarthritis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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