Outcome variable | RFA group (N=32) | Sham RF group (N=32) | P value | Mean difference from baseline | P value | |
RFA group | Sham RF group | |||||
VAS pain score (mean, SD) | ||||||
Baseline | 5.7±1.9 (n=32) | 5.0±1.4 (n=32) | 0.13 | |||
1 month | 3.0±2.3 (n=32)* | 3.1±1.9 (n=32)* | 0.64 | 2.7±2.3 | 1.9±2.2 | 0.15 |
2 months | 3.1±2.3 (n=32)* | 3.3±2.4 (n=30)* | 0.82 | 2.6±2.9 | 1.6±2.6 | 0.82 |
4 months | 3.1±2.3 (n=31)* | 3.7±2.7 (n=30)* | 0.38 | 2.5±2.5 | 1.1±2.7 | 0.04 |
6 months | 3.3±2.7 (n=29)* | 3.1±2.3 (n=30)* | 0.93 | 2.4±2.7 | 1.7±2.7 | 0.29 |
8 months | 3.5±2.5 (n=28)* | 3.3±2.3 (n=28)* | 0.75 | 2.1±2.7 | 1.5±2.4 | 0.36 |
10 months | 3.4±2.6 (n=26)* | 3.4±2.5 (n=27)* | 0.99 | 2.1±2.5 | 1.4±2.5 | 0.36 |
12 months | 3.2±2.6 (n=26)* | 2.6±2.4 (n=27)* | 0.40 | 2.3±2.8 | 2.2±2.4 | 0.73 |
WOMAC (mean, SD) | ||||||
Baseline | ||||||
Overall | 91.2±38.2 (n=32) | 95.8±41.2 (n=32) | 0.35 | |||
Pain | 20.4±7.7 (n=32) | 20.6±8.0 (n=32) | 0.95 | |||
Stiffness | 8.2±3.8 (n=32) | 8.5±3.9 (n=32) | 0.72 | |||
Function | 62.4±27.0 (n=32) | 66.7±30.5 (n=32) | 0.55 | |||
1 month | ||||||
Overall | 63.6±51.8 (n=32)* | 66.8±42.4 (n=32)* | 0.45 | 26.6±37.7 | 27.2±37.7 | 0.78 |
Pain | 13.7±10.3 (n=32)* | 0.90 | 6.8±7.6 | 6.6±9.8 | 0.93 | |
Stiffness | 5.7±4.4 (n=32)* | 14.0±9.0 (n=32)* | 0.87 | 2.5±3.4 | 3.0±4.5 | 0.60 |
Function | 41.9±36.6 (n=32)* | 5.5±4.6 (n=32)* | 0.58 | 20.5±27.3 | 20.2±26.7 | 0.97 |
2 months | 46.5±29.1 (n=32)* | |||||
Overall | 71.5±48.4 (n=32)* | 63.5±42.2 (n=30)* | 0.51 | 20.7±40.9 | 26.6±46.4 | 0.72 |
Pain | 15.1±11.7 (n=32)* | 13.5±9.0 (n=30)* | 0.56 | 5.3±10.0 | 6.3±9.7 | 0.69 |
Stiffness | 5.7±4.1 (n=32)* | 5.5±4.1 (n=30)* | 0.88 | 2.5±4.0 | 2.7±5.1 | 0.89 |
Function | 47.5±35.9 (n=32)* | 44.0±30.8 (n=30)* | 0.68 | 14.8±26.9 | 21.1±35.4 | 0.44 |
4 months | ||||||
Overall | 68.2±46.3 (n=31) | 75.9±45.1 (n=30)* | 0.49 | 19.8±42.9 | 21.9±41.2 | 0.95 |
Pain | 13.7±10.0 (n=31)* | 16.2±9.3 (n=30)* | 0.32 | 6.9±9.2 | 3.6±7.3 | 0.17 |
Stiffness | 5.7±4.1 (n=31)* | 6.3±4.7 (n=30)* | 0.60 | 2.5±4.3 | 1.9±4.6 | 0.63 |
Function | 46.7±33.7 (n=31)* | 51.4±31.7 (n=30)* | 0.58 | 15.3±28.7 | 13.7±29.4 | 0.83 |
6 months | ||||||
Overall | 76.0±64.0 (n=29) | 72.7±50.2 (n=30)* | 0.99 | 27.1±42.7 | 34.7±54.4 | 0.81 |
Pain | 15.0±12.8 (n=29)* | 15.1±10.8 (n=30)* | 0.97 | 5.3±10.7 | 4.8±11.1 | 0.84 |
Stiffness | 5.7±5.8 (n=29)* | 5.9±4.6 (n=30)* | 0.88 | 2.5±5.1 | 2.3±5.0 | 0.87 |
Function | 47.6±40.2 (n=29)* | 48.9±35.4 (n=30)* | 0.90 | 15.2±29.5 | 16.2±35.7 | 0.91 |
8 months | ||||||
Overall | 74.6±50.3 (n=28) | 66.2±43.5 (n=28)* | 0.49 | 15.0±42.9 | 23.5±46.2 | 0.47 |
Pain | 16.3±11.4 (n=28) | 16.0±11.0 (n=28) | 0.93 | 3.9±9.6 | 3.3±10.2 | 0.82 |
Stiffness | 6.6±5.2 (n=28) | 4.9±4.3 (n=28)* | 0.19 | 1.7±4.6 | 3.1±4.8 | 0.26 |
Function | 50.0±35.1 (n=28) | 47.1±29.5 (n=28)* | 0.74 | 12.6±33.3 | 14.3±33.4 | 0.85 |
10 months | ||||||
Overall | 67.4±43.5 (n=26) | 70.5±45.1 (n=27) | 0.84 | 17.3±42.0 | 16.8±41.0 | 0.99 |
Pain | 14.5±10.6 (n=26) | 15.1±10.4 (n=27) | 0.84 | 4.2±10.0 | 3.9±10.0 | 0.90 |
Stiffness | 6.0±4.6 (n=26) | 5.3±4.3 (n=27) * | 0.57 | 1.7±4.5 | 2.7±5.3 | 0.43 |
Function | 45.1±29.7 (n=26) | 49.1±30.6 (n=27) | 0.64 | 13.2±30.3 | 11.4±29.6 | 0.82 |
12 months | ||||||
Overall | 67.1±51.9 (n=26) | 60.6±42.82 (n=27)* | 0.85 | 17.7±49.2 | 24.6±38.5 | 0.70 |
Pain | 13.2±10.0 (n=26)* | 13.9±10.0 (n=27)* | 0.79 | 5.6±9.6 | 5.1±9.3 | 0.85 |
Stiffness | 6.2±5.4 (n=26) | 4.6±4.1 (n=27)* | 0.21 | 1.4±5.5 | 3.5±4.2 | 0.13 |
Function | 45.9±37.3 (n=26) | 42.2±28.4 (n=27)* | 0.69 | 12.5±37.7 | 18.2±27.5 | 0.53 |
PGI-I (mean, SD) | ||||||
1 month | 2.3±0.8 (n=32) | 2.5±0.8 (n=32) | 0.65 | |||
2 months | 2.6±1.0 (n=32) | 2.5±1.1 (n=30) | 0.92 | |||
4 months | 2.5±0.9 (n=31) | 2.7±1.1 (n=30) | 0.28 | |||
6 months | 2.6±1.0 (n=29) | 2.4±0.9 (n=30) | 0.46 | |||
8 months | 2.9±1.3 (n=28) | 2.8±1.3 (n=28) | 0.69 | |||
10 months | 2.9±1.1 (n=26) | 3.0±1.4 (n=27) | 0.74 | |||
12 months | 2.8±1.3 (n=26) | 2.6±1.3 (n=27) | 0.56 |
Overall WOMAC score demostrated in bold.
*p<0.05 (comparing within the group; between baseline and different time point), overall WOMAC score may slightly deviate from the sum of the subscales due to variations in scoring.51
PGI-I, Patient Global Improvement-Index; RF, radiofrequency; RFA, RF ablation; VAS, Visual Analog Scale; WOMAC, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index.