Pulsed Radiofrequency Therapy on Peripheral Nerves Monitoring Pain, Quality of Life, Patient Satisfaction and Efficacy

Neuropathic pain is a chronic condition caused by damage to the somatosensory nervous system. The pain associated with neuropathic pain is often severe and debilitating, and can significantly interfere with the quality of life and daily functioning of affected patients. Current pharmacologic treatments, such as antidepressants, antiepileptics, and opioids, can offer only partial relief for 40-60% of patients, and are often accompanied by severe side effects. This has led to increasing interest in non-pharmacologic management options for neuropathic pain. One such promising treatment option is pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment applied to the affected peripheral nerve in conjunction with local anesthetic and/or corticosteroid medication. Several studies, including case reports, retrospective studies, and small randomized controlled trials, have shown that PRF treatment to the affected peripheral nerve can be beneficial and effective for managing chronic peripheral neuropathic pain. Several peripheral neuralgias, such as thoracic postherpetic neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, pudendal neuralgia, meralgia paresthetica, painful shoulder, post-thoracotomy syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome, have been successfully treated with PRF. PRF treatment has garnered significant interest among ultrasound-skilled pain physicians because of its superior, safe, and non-destructive percutaneous approach to peripheral nerves, visualized by today's excellent visual ultrasound guidance. Our academic pain center performs approximately more than 1000 ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks per year on a wide range of peripheral nerves. Moderate evidence for treating peripheral nerves with PRF treatment is available; however, PRF treatment settings such as voltage, number of cycles, and treatment duration vary, and it is not clear which setting contributes most substantially to pain reduction results. The aim of this prospective longitudinal observational data collection is to evaluate