title: Incidence of neuropathic pain after cooled radiofrequency ablation of sacral lateral branch nerves.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the incidence of neuropathic pain after cooled radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the sacral lateral branches for the treatment of chronic posterior sacroiliac joint complex pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review of all patients with chronic posterior sacroiliac joint complex pain who underwent cooled RFA of the sacral lateral branches in our practice between July 2011 and February 2014.
  
  
  METHODS
  Single academic pain practice at a tertiary care medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-six patients with chronic posterior sacroiliac joint complex pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  All charts were reviewed to determine the procedure date, unilateral or bilateral, number of levels treated, and number of individual lesions. Side effects were assessed for their presence or absence, character, intensity, duration, and whether treatment was initiated or symptoms resolved spontaneously.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-eight separate procedures were performed, with a total of 193 levels and 430 lesions. Three patients had transient postprocedure neuropathic pain yielding a 0.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]± 0.4%) rate of this complication per lesion. This proportion increases to 6.2% (95% CI ± 3.5%) per procedure and to 9.4% (95% CI ± 5.2%) per patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of postprocedural neuropathic pain after cooled RFA for posterior sacroiliac joint complex denervation is low and in a similar range to that in the lumbar spine. We consider this procedure safe to be utilized by pain medicine practitioners.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine Division, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stolzenberg
authors.forename: Vitaly
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gordin
authors.forename: Yakov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vorobeychik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012446:Sacroiliac Joint / Q000601:surgery
keywords: Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation; Lateral Branch; Neuropathic Pain; Neurotomy; Sacroiliac Joint