• Yong Fei, Jiajia Deng, Hui Lv, Ming Yao, Tingting Wang, and Bing Huang.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Jun 19; 99 (25): e20807.

RationalePulsed radiofrequency (PRF) therapy of dorsal root ganglion is effective in treating acute stage shingles neuralgia of chest and back. Herein, a case of herpetic neuralgia with difficult puncture of dorsal root ganglion of upper thoracic segment is report.Patient ConcernsA 62-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital for 2 days for herpes zoster with paroxysmal needle-like pain in the left chest and back. The skin lesion area of herpes zoster and the superficial location of neuralgia was left T2-4, and visual analog scale (VAS) score was 6 points.DiagnosisTwo days ago, the patient had paroxysmal needle-like pain in the left chest and back, without herpes, and was admitted to the hospital for emergency treatment. Chest pain and myocardial infarction were considered; however, troponin, myocardial enzyme spectrum, and blood amylase were in the normal range. On the evening of the same day, the patient presented green bean-sized blisters distributed in clusters along the left T2-4 nerve as a banded pattern. Thus, the patient was diagnosed as shingles.InterventionOral gabapentin capsules, varaciclovir tablets, mecobalamine tablets, and amitriptyline hydrochloride tablets were administered, and topical aciclovir cream was applied. The VAS score after the above treatment was 5 points. The patient underwent computed tomography-guided PRF surgery on the dorsal root ganglion.OutcomePostoperative pain was relieved. One month post-surgery, no oral analgesic drugs were administered. The VAS score was 1 point, and the pain completely disappeared at 3 months post-surgery.ConclusionsHerpes zoster is most common in the chest and back. The PRF of dorsal root ganglion cannot access the target by conventional puncture, and can be completed by thoracic sympathetic nerve radiofrequency puncture path.

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