Efficacy of ultrasound-guided acupotomy combined with pulsed radiofrequency in the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis

Objective To observe and compare the therapeutic effects of ultrasound-guided acupotomy combined with pulsed radiofrequency and ultrasound-guided acupotomy alone on knee osteoarthritis, and to explore the application value of pulsed radiofrequency. Methods Fifty-four patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly divided into two groups, 28 patients in the simple group and 26 patients in the combined group, from June 2017 to June 2018 in East China Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Fudan University and the Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong. The patients were treated with only ultrasound-guided acupotomy in the simple group, and ultrasound-guided acupotomy combined with pulsed radiofrequency in the combined group. Visual analogue scale (VAS), Lysholm knee function score (Lysholm) and SF-36 score were used to assess the effects before the treatment and at 1 month and 6 months after the treatment. Results VAS was lower in the two groups after the treatment than that before the treatment (P<0.01) , and the Lysholm and SF-36 scores were higher in the two groups after the treatment than those before the treatment (P<0.01) . One month after the treatment, the VAS was even lower in the combined group than that in the simple group (P<0.05) , while the SF-36 score was even higher in the combined group than that in the simple group at the same time point (P<0.05) . There was no significant difference for VAS and SF-36 scores between the two groups at 6 months after the treatment. The Lysholm score was higher in the combined group than that in the simple group at the same time point at 1 and 6 months after the treatment with statistical significance (P<0.05) . No obvious complications such as infection and vessels/nerve injury were found. Conclusion Both ultrasound-guided acupotomy combined with pulsed radiofrequency and ultrasound-guided acupotomy alone are effective in the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis, while the former is better in improving the function of knee joints. Key words: Pulsed radiofrequency; Osteoarthritis, knee; Ultrasonography, doppler; Small knife needle