BACKGROUND
Knee ostheoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of chronic knee pain. Conservative treatments, such as hyaluronic acid injections (HA), have traditionally been utilized to treat OA of the knee. A single injection of HA is the standard treatment protocol. 
Cooled radiofrequency ablation (CRFA) is a minimally invasive option for pain management. CRFA delivers targeted thermal damage to neural tissue which interrupts the transmission of pain signals.

OBJECTIVES
This prospective,randomized,multi-center study was conducted to compare pain relief,functional improvement,Global Perceived Effect and safety of CRFA to HA to treat OA knee pain.

MATHERIAL AND METHODS
177 patients underwent diagnostic block injections. Patients who had a minimum of 50% pain relief from the diagnostic blocks were randomized to receive either CRFA or single HA injection.
175 patients were treated (n=88 CRFA and n=87 HA).
158 patients (n= 76CRFA and 82 HA) were subsequently evaluated for pain (numerical rating scale= NRS),function (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index WOMAC), Global Perceived effect (GPE), and safety at 1,3,and 6 months.

RESULTS 
Subjects receiving CRFA had a mean NRS score reduction of 4.1 points compared to subjects receiving HA, who had a mean reduction of 2.5
In the CRFA group, 71,1% of patients had >50% pain relief after 6 months, compared to 37.8% in HA group
After 6 months, the mean total WOMAC score for subjects receiving CRFA was 33.6 compared to 53.6 for those who received HA. Mean WOMAC score improvement from baseline was 48.2% for CRFA.
At 6 months 72.4% of subjects in the CRFA group reported improvement in GPE compared to 40.2% in the HA group.

SAFETY
No serious adverse events related to either procedure were noted and overall adverse event profiles were similar.

DISCUSSION
CRFA treated patients demonstrated a significant improvement in pain and overall function compared to patients treated with HA.
CRFA is a safe and effective treatment for pain related to knee OA.

07 - A PROSPECTIVE, MULTI-CENTER, RANDOMIZED, CLINICAL TRIAL COMPARING COOLED RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION VS A SINGLE INJECTION OF HYALURONIC ACID IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OA KNEE PAIN