Efficacy of chemical thoracic sympathetic nerve modulation combined with pulsed radiofrequency in treating upper limb postherpetic neuralgia / 中华麻醉学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of chemical thoracic sympathetic nerve modulation combined with pulsed radiofrequency in treating upper limb postherpetic neuralgia ( PHN). Methods Forty-two patients of both sexes with upper limb PHN, aged 48-75 yr, were divided into 2 groups ( n=21 each) using a random number table method: chemical thoracic sympathetic nerve modulation combined with pulsed radiofrequency group ( TSNM+PR group) and pulsed radiofrequency group ( PR group) . TSNM+PR group was treated using chemical thoracic sympathetic nerve modulation combined with pulsed radiofrequen-cy, and PR group received pulsed radiofrequency alone. The occurrence of treatment-related adverse reac-tions was recorded. Numeric rating scale scores were recorded preoperatively and at 1 day and 1 and 3 months after operation, and the efficacy was graded. The effective treatment and pain recurrence were re-corded 3 months after operation. Quantitative sensory nerve tests were performed to record the current per-ception threshold before operation and on 1 day, 1 month and 3 months after operation. Results Compared with PR group, numeric rating scale score was significantly decreased, the therapeutic effect was en-hanced, the rate of effective treatment was increased, the recurrence rate of pain was decreased at 1 and 3 months after surgery, the current perception threshold at 250 and 5 Hz on the ipsilateral side was increased at 1 and 3 months after surgery in TSNM+PR group ( P<0. 05) . No treatment-related adverse reactions were found in two groups. Conclusion Chemical thoracic sympathetic nerve modulation combined with pulsed radiofrequency provides reliable therapeutic effect and higher safety for upper limb PHN.