• Wassi Shaikh, Scott Miller, Zachary L McCormick, Prachi Milan Patel, Masaru Teramoto, and David R Walega.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, United States.
• Pain Med. 2023 Jul 5; 24 (7): 768774768-774.

ObjectiveEvaluate outcomes of genicular nerve chemical neurolysis (GChN) in a real-world population with chronic knee pain.DesignRestrospective, observational cohort study.SettingTertiary academic medical center.SubjectsConsecutive patients who had undergone GChN ≥3 months prior.MethodsStandardized surveys were collected by telephone and included the numerical rating scale, opioid analgesic use, and Patient Global Impression of Change. Age, sex, body mass index, duration of pain, history of arthroplasty, lack of effect from previous radiofrequency ablation, percentage relief from a prognostic block, and volume of phenol used at each injection site were extracted from charts. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors influencing treatment outcome.ResultsAt the time of follow-up after GChN (mean ± SD: 9.9 ± 6.1 months), 43.5% (95% CI = 33.5-54.1) of participants reported ≥50% sustained pain reduction. On the Patient Global Impression of Change assessment, 45.9% (95% CI = 35.5-56.7) of participants reported themselves to be "very much improved" or "much improved." Of 40 participants taking opioids at baseline, 11 (27.5%; 95% CI = 14.6-43.9) ceased use. Of participants with a native knee treated, 46.3% reported ≥50% pain reduction, whereas of participants with an arthroplasty in the treated knee, 33.3% reported this threshold of pain reduction (P = .326). Logistic regression analyses did not reveal associations between treatment success and any of the factors that we evaluated.ConclusionsGChN could provide a robust and durable treatment effect in a subset of individuals with chronic knee pain with complicating factors traditionally associated with poor treatment outcomes, such as those with pain refractory to radiofrequency ablation or those who have undergone arthroplasty.© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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