• Zuying Liu, Lijun Fu, Jiaming Fan, Letian Ma, Huilian Bu, Qingying Liu, Xinxin Li, Jian Wang, Jingjing Yuan, and Xiaochong Fan.
• Department of Pain Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
• Pain Physician. 2024 Sep 1; 27 (7): E695E703E695-E703.

BackgroundPercutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation (PRT) is an established treatment for glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN). However, the effectiveness of conventional single-needle PRT is limited due to the glossopharyngeal nerve's unique anatomical location.ObjectivesA major objective of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness and long-term outcomes of computed-tomography (CT)-guided double-needle PRT for patients with GPN.Study DesignRetrospective study.SettingDepartment of Pain Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.MethodsClinical data from 38 postoperative GPN patients who underwent CT-guided double-needle PRT between October 2019 and September 2022 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Pain severity was assessed using the Barrow Neurological Institute Pain Intensity Scale (BNI-P) score, and anxiety and depression were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).ResultsThirty-eight GPN patients were treated with CT-guided double-needle PRT, and 28 patients could be contacted for follow-up. Pain was relieved in 23 patients (82.14%) immediately after the PRT procedure. The percentage of patients who experienced persistent pain relief was 85.71% at T2, 85.71% at T3, 89.28% at T4 and 89.28% at T5. Post-procedure complications included dysesthesia in the throat, dysphagia, choking on drinking water, and hoarseness. No mortality was observed during or after PRT procedures. Twelve patients (42.9%) suffered from anxiety, and 16 patients (57.1%) had depression. Postoperative HADS scores showed notable improvements over the preoperative scores.LimitationsBecause this study was observational and retrospective, there was no detailed evaluation of the patients. Additionally, the study's small sample size and single-center nature may have further contributed to the bias of the results. A multicenter, prospective study with a large sample size should be performed to further investigate the effectiveness of CT-guided double-needle PRT as a GPN treatment.ConclusionThis study's findings suggest that CT-guided double-needle PRT is a safe and effective alternative treatment for GPN.

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