Effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency based on the minimum clinically important differences in lumbar spine-related pain in patients without recent lumbar surgery

Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) has been used for treatment of chronic pain in several body regions, including axial and radicular pain. However, a limited number of reports have specifically demonstrated the effectiveness of PRF for spine-related pain among non-surgical patients. Therefore, we evaluated the effectiveness of PRF for lumbar spine-associated pain in patients without recent spine surgery, and identified the factors associated with clinically meaningful improvement in pain and quality of life. Records of patients who underwent PRF for lumbar spine-related pain and were followed-up over 6 months between 2019 and 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Data on patient demographics, interventional factors, and patient-reported outcomes, such as the numerical rating scale (NRS) and EuroQol Group 5 Dimension 5-Level Quality of Life (EQ-5D-5L), were collected. Patients were divided into two groups (responsive and non-responsive) based on the NRS and EQ-5D-5L scores using the previously reported minimal clinically important difference (MCID) values of the NRS and EQ-5D-5L as cutoffs, and baseline parameters were compared to identify contributing factors. Forty-three patients were included in the final analysis. The NRS and EQ-5D-5L scores improved significantly at 3 and 6 months after PRF compared to baseline.The groups with NRS and EQ-5D-5L improvement over the MCID had significantly higher baseline NRS and EQ-5D-5L scores. Our results demonstrated that PRF improved pain and patient-reported outcomes for spinal-related pain for at least 6 months in our patient cohort. PRF may be a good option for treating lumbar spine-related issues, even with severe pain and/or dysfunction.