TITLE:
Thermal Microcautery, a Form of Peripheral Nerve Field Stimulation for Treatment of Painful Knee Osteoarthritis: Non-Randomized Controlled Trial
AUTHORS:
Camillus K. Power, Deborah Galvin, Tagarisa Foto, Ahmed Abdelaal Ahmed Mahmoud, Nikolaos G. Kostopoulos
KEYWORDS:
Peripheral Nerve Field Stimulation, Thermal Microcautery, Painful Osteoarthritis, Agni-Karma
JOURNAL NAME:
Pain Studies and Treatment,
Vol.7 No.3,
July
31,
2019
ABSTRACT: Background: Thermal Microcautery (TMC) is a form of peripheral nerve field stimulation and is a technique used in Traditional Indian Medicine (Agnikarma) to manage chronic pain. The aim was to asses TMC in painful knee osteoarthritis (PKO). Methods: A non-randomized controlled trial was employed. All PKO patients on a waiting list for knee replacement were offered PNFS-TMC. Patients in the intervention group received 4 sessions (2 weeks apart) of PNFS-TMC by a pin-point tip of a metal rod. The rod was heated over a flame for 5 minutes before being used to induce a single 1 mm second-degree burn over points of tenderness. The control group was selected from the same waiting list. The primary outcome was assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. The secondary outcomes were changes in levels of physical day to day activity, sleep and analgesics. Results: 16 PNFS-TMC intervention group patients and 15 control group patients were subject to analysis. Baseline VAS score was higher in PNFS-TMC group [9 ± 1.23 (95% CI 8.38 - 9.61) versus 5.93 ± 2.11 (95% CI 4.81 - 7.06) in the control, P Conclusions: PNFS-TMC could offer a simple, safe, cheap and effective method of pain management in chronic PKO patients.