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Lumbar RadiculopathyNCT05713032

Pulsed Radiofrequency in Chronic Lumbosacral Radicular Pain

A study testing Pulsed radiofrequency on lumbar dorsal root ganglion in people with Lumbar Radiculopathy, run by Alexandria University at 1 site in Egypt.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

To evaluate the efficacy of usage of High-voltage pulsed radiofrequency on DRG in comparison to standard-voltage pulsed radiofrequency intervention in patients with chronic lumbosacral radicular pain Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Lumbar Radiculopathy
What is being tested?
Pulsed radiofrequency on lumbar dorsal root ganglion
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
96 participants
Where
1 siteEgypt
Study dates
1 Feb 2023to 14 Feb 2024
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • More than 18 years old
  • Radiating Leg pain (with or without low back pain)
  • Unresponsiveness or partial response to oral medications, physical therapy
  • Confirmed by clinical examination and lasting for > 6 months with preoperative Numeric Rating Scales (NRS) score more than 4
  • Clinical presentation confirmed by Magnetic resonance imaging showing neural compression.

Who cannot join

  • Blood coagulopathies
  • Infection at the site of puncture,
  • History of mental disorder
  • History of drug abuse
  • MRI not consistent with clinical symptoms
  • Radiculopathies with significant motor deficits requiring urgent surgery (e.g., Cauda Equina syndrome).
  • Patients affected by central neurological impairment or peripheral distal neuropathies in the lower limbs.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Egypt1 site
  • Medical Research Institute

    Alexandria, Al, 1234

Other trials in Egypt

About this study

Official title: High-voltage Fluoroscopic Guided Pulsed Radiofrequency in Comparison With Standard-voltage Pulsed Radiofrequency on Dorsal Root Ganglion in Chronic Lumbosacral Radicular Pain

To evaluate the efficacy of usage of High-voltage pulsed radiofrequency on DRG in comparison to standard-voltage pulsed radiofrequency intervention in patients with chronic lumbosacral radicular pain

Read the detailed description

Lumbosacral radicular (LRS) pain is one of the most common health care problem. Up to 5% of the population older than 30 years of age suffer low back pain radiating into the leg, making it probably the most commonly occurring form of neuropathic pain.

Radicular pain has been discerned as the pain arising in a limb or trunk which is caused by ectopic activation of nociceptive afferent fibers in a spinal nerve or its roots or other neuropathic mechanisms. More accurately, radicular pain is a term applied to describe pain that results from the stimulation of, or a disorder of, a nerve root.

Acute lumbosacral radicular pain, caused by disc herniation, improves considerably in the short-term. About three quarters of patients will have symptoms of recovery within 3 months; however, there is a high recurrence rate, and when pain persists after this period the prognosis is rather unfavorable, especially in the female population. Conservative therapy (pharmacotherapy or physiotherapy) is effective in 60% of cases, while the rest of cases progress into chronic pain. This results in a high degree of disability and ending with higher medical expenses.

Patients suffering lumbosacral radicular pain often experience a reduced functionality leading to incapacity to work. A quarter of patients are still out of work 2 years after onset.

Despite its high prevalence and significant impact on quality of life, the optimal conservative treatment for patients with radicular pain is not known. Considering the moderate quality of published evidence, the efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological treatment in primary care for patients with lumbosacral radicular pain is unclear.

In the DRG, there is a process that takes place after being compressed by disc prolapse where a cascade of events within the DRG and upstream within the dorsal horn (DH) of the spinal cord leads to constitutive release of cytokines, production of abnormal ion channels, abnormal ion currents, early and late gene changes, and the development of chronic neuropathic pain. With this knowledge regarding the role of DRG neurons and non-neuronal cells within the DRG in the genesis of neuropathic pain, pharmacologic agents such as tetrodotoxin and non-pharmacologic treatments for neuropathic pain including electrical stimulation (neuromodulation) therapies targeting the DRG have been or are being developed.

Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is a therapeutic strategy that has been used by pain practitioners as a non- or minimally autodestructive technique in which short bursts of high-frequency current are applied to nervous tissue.

PRF is delivered in a pulse of 20 ms followed by a silent period of 480 ms to avoid radiofrequency heat lesions, and Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment uses high-frequency current intermittently and its use adjacent to the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) has been suggested for the treatment of radicular pain.

It was previously demonstrated in other studies that the therapeutic effectiveness of PRF is affected by its parameters and the high-voltage PRF has been promising to enhance the clinical therapeutic effectiveness significantly for patients with neuralgia

Being tested
Pulsed radiofrequency on lumbar dorsal root ganglion
Medical subject headings
Radiculopathy

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Pulsed radiofrequency on lumbar dorsal root ganglionProcedure or surgery

    voltage of pulsed radiofrequency on DRG

Study groups in NCT05713032
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
standard voltage groupActive comparatorThe Standard voltage group will be given a onetime pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) therapy. All subjects in this group will be given radiofrequency therapy on the dorsal root ganglion using the same tools and procedures by the same operator. Pulsed RF mode of RF generator will be used with following parameters --Temperature 42°C -- Frequency 2 Hertz - Pulse Width 20msec-Amplitude output voltage 45 Volt for Duration of 480sec done in 2 cycles.
Receives: Procedure: Pulsed radiofrequency on lumbar dorsal root ganglion
high voltage groupActive comparatorThe High voltage group will be given a onetime pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) therapy. All subjects in this group will be given radiofrequency therapy on the dorsal root ganglion using the same tools and procedures by the same operator. Pulsed RF mode of RF generator will be used with following parameters --Temperature 42°C -- Frequency 2 Hertz - Pulse Width 20msec-Amplitude output voltage will be gradually increased to reach the highest voltage for each patient (55-75 Volt) for Duration of 480sec done in 2 cycles.
Receives: Procedure: Pulsed radiofrequency on lumbar dorsal root ganglion

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Numeric rating scale

    Numeric scale used to evaluate pain severity with 0 as the lowest score (no pain at all) and 10 as the highest score (most serious pain beyond endurance)

    Measured: 6 months

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Oswestry low back disability questionnaire

    Questionnaire composed of ten questions and for each question, there is a possible points; 0 for the first answer, 1 for the second answer, etc.

    Score 0-4 : No disability Score 5-14 : Mild disability Score 15-24 : Moderate disability Score 25-34 : Severe disability Score 35-50 : Completely disabled

    Measured: 6 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted6 Feb 2023
  2. Study start1 Feb 2023
  3. Primary completion15 Jan 2024
  4. Study completion14 Feb 2024

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator
Enrolment
96 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05713032
Sponsor's protocol ID
E/C. S/N. T124/2022
Status last verified
Feb 2024
First submitted
24 Jan 2023
Last updated
15 Feb 2024
Results posted
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Cohen SP, Greuber E, Vought K, Lissin D. Safety of Epidural Steroid Injections for Lumbosacral Radicular Pain: Unmet Medical Need. Clin J Pain. 2021 Sep 1;37(9):707-717. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000963.

    PubMed 34265792
  • Krames ES. The role of the dorsal root ganglion in the development of neuropathic pain. Pain Med. 2014 Oct;15(10):1669-85. doi: 10.1111/pme.12413. Epub 2014 Mar 18.

    PubMed 24641192
  • Kim SJ, Park SJ, Yoon DM, Yoon KB, Kim SH. Predictors of the analgesic efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency treatment in patients with chronic lumbosacral radicular pain: a retrospective observational study. J Pain Res. 2018 Jun 26;11:1223-1230. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S164414. eCollection 2018.

    PubMed 29983585
  • Lee DG, Cho YW, Ahn SH, Chang MC. The Effect of Bipolar Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment on Chronic Lumbosacral Radicular Pain Refractory to Monopolar Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment. Pain Physician. 2018 Mar;21(2):E97-E103.

    PubMed 29565952
  • Marliana A, Yudianta S, Subagya DW, Setyopranoto I, Setyaningsih I, Tursina Srie C, Setyawan R, Rhatomy S. The efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency intervention of the lumbar dorsal root ganglion in patients with chronic lumbar radicular pain. Med J Malaysia. 2020 Mar;75(2):124-129.

    PubMed 32281592
  • Van Boxem K, van Bilsen J, de Meij N, Herrler A, Kessels F, Van Zundert J, van Kleef M. Pulsed radiofrequency treatment adjacent to the lumbar dorsal root ganglion for the management of lumbosacral radicular syndrome: a clinical audit. Pain Med. 2011 Sep;12(9):1322-30. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01202.x. Epub 2011 Aug 3.

    PubMed 21812907
  • Vanneste T, Van Lantschoot A, Van Boxem K, Van Zundert J. Pulsed radiofrequency in chronic pain. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2017 Oct;30(5):577-582. doi: 10.1097/ACO.0000000000000502.

    PubMed 28700369
  • Vigneri S, Sindaco G, La Grua M, Zanella M, Lo Bianco G, Paci V, Vinci FM, Sciacca C, Ravaioli L, Pari G. Electrocatheter-mediated High-voltage Pulsed Radiofrequency of the Dorsal Root Ganglion in the Treatment of Chronic Lumbosacral Neuropathic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Study. Clin J Pain. 2020 Jan;36(1):25-33. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000766.

    PubMed 31577546
  • Wan C, Dong DS, Song T. High-Voltage, Long-Duration Pulsed Radiofrequency on Gasserian Ganglion Improves Acute/Subacute Zoster-Related Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Controlled Trial. Pain Physician. 2019 Jul;22(4):361-368.

    PubMed 31337167
  • Wan CF, Liu Y, Dong DS, Zhao L, Xi Q, Yu X, Cui WY, Wang QS, Song T. Bipolar High-Voltage, Long-Duration Pulsed Radiofrequency Improves Pain Relief in Postherpetic Neuralgia. Pain Physician. 2016 Jul;19(5):E721-8.

    PubMed 27389115
  • Yang S, Kim W, Kong HH, Do KH, Choi KH. Epidural steroid injection versus conservative treatment for patients with lumbosacral radicular pain: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Jul 24;99(30):e21283. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000021283.

    PubMed 32791709

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Pulsed radiofrequency on lumbar dorsal root ganglion in people with Lumbar Radiculopathy, run by Alexandria University at 1 site in Egypt.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Feb 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Egypt. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Numeric rating scale (time frame: 6 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05713032, which also lists 11 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Feb 2024.

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