title: Pulsed radiofrequency in the treatment of coccygodynia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Coccygodynia is a clinical condition characterized by pain and tenderness around the coccygeal region. Trauma is the most common etiologic factor. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment in patients with coccygodynia that could not be relieved by classic treatment protocols, and we present our long-term results with caudal epidural PRF.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 21 patients who were treated for coccygodynia by caudal epidural PRF in our Pain Clinic. Sixteen patients (76%) had a history of trauma, three patients (14%) had previous surgery, and two patients (10%) had idiopathic coccygodynia with no identifiable cause. All patients had been previously treated with conservative methods, but none had pain relief. Pain level of the patients was assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) score. A questionnaire to evaluate subjective patient satisfaction was also used at the 3rd-week and the 6th-month follow-ups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median VAS score was 8 at baseline, decreased to 2 by the 3rd week and was 2 at the 6th month. VAS at the 3rd week and 6th month were significantly lower compared to baseline (p<0.001). At the 6th month, 12 patients (57%) had excellent results, 5 patients (24%) had good results and only 4 patients (19%) had poor results regarding the subjective patient satisfaction questionnaire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Caudal epidural PRF may be an alternative to surgery for coccygodynia patients who are unresponsive to classic treatment methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Gülhane Military Medical Faculty, Ankara, Turkey. drkadiratim@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Abdulkadir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atim
authors.forename: Atilla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ergin
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bilgiç
authors.forename: Süleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deniz
authors.forename: Ercan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kurt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003050:Coccyx / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000601:surgery*; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012445:Sacrococcygeal Region; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult