Efficacy of Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation Treatment in Patients with Chronic Coccydynia.

Objective: Ganglion impar blockade is used for many chronic pain syndromes originating from the pelvic structures. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFT) treatment in patients diagnosed with chronic coccydynia who did not respond to conservative therapy. Material and Methods: Patients who underwent RFT for chronic coccydynia between 2015 and 2020 were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. All patients had had complaints for at least 6 months. Patients' pre-treatment characteristics were obtained from records and post-treatment data were collected by phone (at the 1st, 6th, 12th, and 24th months). While pre-treatment pain intensity was evaluated face-to-face and using visual analogue scale, post-treatment pain level was evaluated over the phone by asking patients to score their pain intensity over 10 (0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain). Results: Forty-one patients (24 females and 17 males) were included into the study. Median age was 43 (range 3749) years. Median pain score decreased from 9 to 3 six months after RFT. Twenty-three (56.1%) patients had 50% or more decrease in their pain scores at 24 months. Twenty-five (61.0%) patients were satisfied with RFT. No significant relationship was found between the decrease in pain scores and factors such as age, sex, body mass index, and duration of disease. There were no complications during or after the procedure. Conclusion: RFT is a reliable and highly satisfactory treatment method in patients with chronic coc-cydynia who do not respond to conservative treatment methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amaç: Impar ganglion bloğu, pelvik yapılardan kaynaklanan birçok kronik ağrı sendromunda kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, kon-servatif tedaviye yanıt vermeyen kronik koksidini tanısı almış hastalarda radyofrekans termokoagülasyon tedavisinin [radiofrequency thermocoagu-lation (RFT)] etkinliğini değerlendirmektir. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu ret-rospektif kesitsel çalışmaya 2015-2020 yılları arasında kliniğimizde kronik koksidini nedeniyle RFT uygulanan hastalar dâhil edildi. Tüm hastaların en az 6 aydır şikâyetleri vardı. Hastaların tedavi öncesi özellikleri kayıtlardan elde edildi ve tedavi sonrası veriler telefonla toplandı (1, 6, 12 ve 24. aylarda). Tedavi öncesi ağrı şiddeti yüz yüze ve görsel analog skala kullanılarak değerlendirilirken, tedavi sonrası ağrı şiddeti telefon üzerinden hastalardan ağrı şiddetlerini 10 üzerinden puanlamaları istenerek değerlendirildi (0 ağrı yok, 10 en şiddetli ağrı). Bulgular: Çalışmamıza 41 (24 kadın ve 17 erkek) hasta dâhil edildi. Ortanca yaş 43 (37-49 arası) idi. Ortanca ağrı skoru RFT'den 6 ay sonra 9'dan 3'e düştü. Yirmi üç (%56,1) hastanın 24. ay ağrı skorlarında %50 veya daha fazla düşüş gözlendi. Yirmi beş (%61,0) hasta RFT'den memnundu. Ağrı skorlarındaki azalma ile yaş, cinsiyet, beden kitle indeksi ve hastalık süresi arasında anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmadı. İşlem sırasında ve sonrasında herhangi bir komplikasyon gelişmedi. Sonuç: RFT, konservatif tedavi yöntemlerine yanıt vermeyen kronik koksidinili hastalarda güvenilir ve oldukça tatmin edici bir tedavi yöntemidir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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