Patients With Knee Pain Caused by Osteoarthritis: Comparison of Conservative Medical Management With RadioFrequency Ablation or Chemical Neurolysis of the Genicular Nerves With Phenol
A randomised controlled triall (RCT) with three parallel arms comparing the functional outcome of chemical ablation with phenol and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the genicular nerves with conservative treatment in patients with chronic knee pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA).
• Adult patients of both sexes, \>35 years who are not a candidate for TKA due to young age, old age, comorbidity or technical reasons.
• OKS \< 30 on a scale from 0 (severe function) to 48 points (satisfactory function).
• Continued pain in the target knee that is moderate to severe (defined as NRS ≥ 6 on an 11-point NRS scale) either constantly or with motion despite at least 3 months of conservative treatments. Conservative treatment can include: active physiotherapy, pharmacological treatment of pain (acetaminophen or NSAIDs) and intra-articular corticosteroid infiltration.
• Radiologic confirmation of arthritis for the target knee. Defined as the Kellgren Lawrence (KL) score of 2 or more on X-ray or MRI.