Effectiveness comparison of genicular nerve ablation for knee osteoarthritic versus post-total knee arthroplasty pain

Background: Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation (GNRFA) is a popular and effective procedure to treat arthritic knee pain. For refractory arthritic pain that fails conservative treatment, total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been an excellent option. Unfortunately, 15–30% of people who undergo a TKA continue to experience pain and stiffness in the knee. The treatment options for post-TKA knee pain are limited. Pain providers have been trialing GNRFA on this pain condition. However, convincing evidence of its efficacy in treating post-TKA pain is still lacking. Methods: This is a retrospective study of 73 patients who had undergone genicular nerve RFA, 46 (63.01%) with osteoarthritic pain, and 27 (36.99%) with post-TKA pain. We compared the outcomes (pain relief, function, and complications) between these two groups at 3 months and 6 months after RFA. Results: Before RFA, there was no significant difference in initial pain and functional level between these two groups. After RFA, the two groups had comparable pain relief at 3 months (p = 0.68) and 6 months (p = 0.53), and similar functionality at 3 months (p = 0.36) and 6 months (p = 0.65). The overall success rate (≥50% pain relief after RFA) was 80.82%, 95% CI: 70.34%–88.22% (osteoarthritic group 80.43%, 95% CI: 66.83%–89.35%, post-TKA 81.48%, 95% CI: 63.30%–91.82%, P = 0.91) at 3-month follow-up and 56.16%, 95% CI: 44.76%–66.95% (osteoarthritic group 56.52%, 95% CI: 42.25%–69.79%, post-TKA 55.56%, 95% CI: 37.31%–72.41%, P = 0.94) at 6-month follow-up. There were no reported complications in either group. Conclusions: Genicular Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation (GNRFA) holds the potential to be equally effective for both post-TKA knee pain and osteoarthritic knee pain.