• Shrif Costandi, Mauricio Garcia-Jacques, Teresa Dews, Michael Kot, Kevin Wong, Gerges Azer, Jasmyn Atalla, Michael Looka, Elie Nasr, and Nagy Mekhail.
• Department of Pain Management, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
• Pain Pract. 2016 Nov 1; 16 (8): 961-968.

BackgroundRadiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the medial branch nerves that innervate the facet joints is a well-established treatment modality; however, studies to determine the optimal radiofrequency ablation temperature are lacking. A wide range (70 to 90°C) has been used. This study aimed to compare outcomes with two set temperatures for the lumbar facet medial branch ablation, 90 and 80°C.MethodsThis retrospective study compared the degree of patient self-reported functional improvement relief, postoperative opioid dose changes, as well as duration among lumbar facet medial branch (RFA) patients who had the procedures performed at 80 or 90°C.ResultsPatients who underwent the procedure at 90°C had 3.1 (95% CI 1.7, 6.5) times the odds (P = 0.0004) of reporting functional improvement of at least 50% when compared to those who underwent neurotomy at 80°C. For self-reported functional improvement greater or equal to 75%, the results were sustained with an odds ratio of 2.8 (95% CI 1.2, 5.7) favoring those with 90°C temperature neurotomy (P = 0.002).ConclusionThere seems to be significant functional improvement associated with temp of 90°C compared to 80°C, with no added risk of complications. Randomized controlled studies are warranted.© 2015 World Institute of Pain.

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