Efficacy of radiofrequency thermocoagulation of cervical spinal nerve posterior branch combined with adhesion lysis under propofol intravenous anesthesia in the treatment of severe shoulder periarthritis

Objective To investigate the efficacy of radiofrequency thermocoagulation of cervical spinal nerve posterior branch combined with adhesion lysis under propofol intravenous anesthesia in the treatment of severe shoulder periarthritis. Methods One hundred and thirty patients with severe periarthritis of shoulder were randomly divided into combined radiofrequency group and manipulative lysis group. The patients was treated with radiofrequency thermocoagulation of cervical spinal nerve posterior branch combined with adhesion lysis under propofol intravenous anesthesia in combined radiofrequency group, and adhesion lysis only under propofol intravenous anesthesia in manipulative lysis group. VAS was used to observe the pain degree, and the curative effect was evaluated by UCLA shoulder function score. Results Compared with pretreatment, VAS decreased and UCLA shoulder function score increased at each time point after the treatment in the two groups (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 96.9% (63/65 cases) in combined radiofrequency group, which was better than that in manipulative lysis group 86.2% (56/65 cases). Conclusion Radiofrequency thermocoagulation of cervical spinal nerve posterior branch combined with adhesion lysis under propofol intravenous anesthesia is effective in the treatment of severe shoulder periarthritis, which is better than adhesion lysis only under propofol intravenous anesthesia in relieving pain. Key words: Neck nerve; Radiofrequency; Thermocoagulation; Propofol; Anesthesia, intravenous; Adhesion lysis; Shoulder periarthritis