Efficacy of radiofrequency thermocoagulation in relieving refractory pain of knee osteoarthritis in midde and older patients / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects of radiofrequency thermocoagulation in relieving refractory pain of knee osteoarthritis in older patients.Methods A total of 18 patients with refractory pain of knee osteoarthritis were under treatment of radiofrequency thermocoagulation to denervation and compared to 20 patients with refractory pain of knee osteoarthritis which were under treatment of arthroscopy combined with compound betamethasone (control group).The Oxford knee score and visual analogue scale were used to evaluate the clinical effects before operation,at 1 week,4 weeks and 12 weeks after operation.Results There were significant decreases in both groups after operation than before operation(Foxford ＝4.12,3.98,FVAS ＝3.98,4.11,both P＜0.05),but there were no statistics differences between radiofrequency thermocoagulation group and control group at 1 week,4 weeks and 12 weeks after operation(toxford ＝ 1.215,1.426; tVAS＝1.319,1.123,0.867,P＞0.05).Conclusions The treatment of radiofrequency thermocoagulation is a minimally invasive method,which can relieve refractory pain of knee osteoarthritis in middle and older patients and recover knee function effectively.