Radiofrequency of suprascapular nerve as an analgesic strategy for chronic pain management. Systematic review and meta-analysis

Chronic shoulder pain is highly prevalent in the general population. Many different analgesic strategies have been described, including radiofrequency treatment to the suprascapular nerve (RFS); however, the effectiveness this approach remains unclear, and no strong recommendation can be made. The a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista española de anestesiología y reanimación (English ed.) 2024-11, Vol.71 (9), p.678-686
Main Authors: Sebastián Infante, J., Blackburn, N., Felipe Vargas, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chronic Pain - therapy
Discapacidad por dolor
Dolor de hombro
Humans
Pain disability
Pain Management - methods
Pain Measurement
Pulsed radiofrequency
Radiofrecuencia
Radiofrecuencia pulsada
Radiofrequency
Shoulder pain
Shoulder Pain - etiology
Shoulder Pain - therapy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Chronic shoulder pain is highly prevalent in the general population. Many different analgesic strategies have been described, including radiofrequency treatment to the suprascapular nerve (RFS); however, the effectiveness this approach remains unclear, and no strong recommendation can be made. The aim of this systematic review is to analyse the latest clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of RFS techniques applied to the suprascapular nerve in terms of management of chronic shoulder pain, post-procedural functionality, and adverse effects. We performed a systematic review of clinical trials retrieved from Medline, Embase and the CENTRAL databases. We included trials comparing RFS with other strategies, including placebo, that had as their primary outcome measures pain rated on a visual analogue scale, functionality rated on a shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI), and the incidence of adverse events. Risk of bias was analysed using the Cochrane RoB2 tool. Evidence was analysed using a random effects model and heterogeneity was quantified using the I2 test. We identified 3030 trials, of which 8 met the inclusion criteria (n = 408). Seven had a high risk of bias. Pain intensity at 1 and 3 months was lower in patients receiving RFS, with a standardised mean difference (SMD) of −0.9 (95% CI [−1.1, 0.33], p = 0.29; I2 88%, p 
ISSN:2341-1929
2341-1929
DOI:10.1016/j.redare.2024.07.006