Session Information
Session Type: Poster Session (Monday)
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose: This prospective, randomized, multi-center study was conducted to compare pain relief, functional improvement, and the safety of cooled radiofrequency ablation (CRFA) to hyaluronic acid (HA) to treat OA knee pain.
Methods: 177 patients underwent diagnostic block injections and those who had a minimum of 50% pain relief were randomized to receive either CRFA on 4 genicular nerves or a single intraarticular HA injection. 175 patients were treated (n=88 CRFA and 89 HA) and subsequently evaluated for pain (numerical rating system=NRS), function (WOMAC), Global Perceived Effect (GPE), and safety at 1, 3, and 6 months.
Results: The two treatment groups had statistically similar demographics and pain at baseline. One hundred and fifty-eight patients completed 6-months post treatment (n=76 CRFA and 82 HA). In the CRFA group, 71.1% of patients (95%CI 60.9-81.2) had ≥50% reduction in NRS pain score compared to 37.8% (95%CI 27.3-48.3) in the HA group (p< 0.0001, primary endpoint) (Table 1). The mean NRS was 2.7 ± 2.3 for the CRFA group and 4.5 ± 2.7 for the HA group (p< 0.0001). The mean WOMAC score improvement from baseline was 48.2% in the CRFA group and 22.6% in the HA group (p< 0.0001) (Table 2). At 6 months, 72.4% (55/76) of subjects in the CRFA group reported improvement in Global Perceived Effect compared to 40.2% (33/82) in the HA group (p< 0.0001) (Table 3). No serious adverse events related to either procedure were noted, and overall adverse event profiles were similar.
Conclusion: In this study, CRFA treated patients demonstrated a significant improvement in pain relief and overall function compared to patients treated with HA. Further follow-up from this study will evaluate the long-term durability of cooled RFA in this patient population.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Chen A, Khalouf F, DePalma M, Zora K, Kohan L, Guirguis M, Beall D, Loudermilk E, Pingree M, Badiola I, Lyman J. A Prospective, Multi-center, Randomized, Clinical Trial Comparing the Effectiveness and Safety of Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation versus a Single Injection of Hyaluronic Acid in the Management of OA Knee Pain [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019; 71 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/a-prospective-multi-center-randomized-clinical-trial-comparing-the-effectiveness-and-safety-of-cooled-radiofrequency-ablation-versus-a-single-injection-of-hyaluronic-acid-in-the-management-of-oa-kn/. Accessed .« Back to 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/a-prospective-multi-center-randomized-clinical-trial-comparing-the-effectiveness-and-safety-of-cooled-radiofrequency-ablation-versus-a-single-injection-of-hyaluronic-acid-in-the-management-of-oa-kn/