Comparison of Orthokin therapy and radiofrequency ablation in the treatment for idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia

Abstract

Despite some advances, treatment of trigeminal neuralgia remains a significant challenge. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of Orthokin as a processed autologous serum and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in the treatment of patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia.

Methods: In this clinical trial, 46 patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia were included in the study with easy sampling and randomly divided into two groups. The first group includes 23 patients treated with RFA under fluoroscopic guidance, and the second group includes 23 other patients treated with 2 ml orthokin injection with fluoroscopic guidance through the foramen ovale on 4 occasions with an interval of 3 weeks. The pain score of the patients based on VAS score before and after the procedure, the duration of recovery after the procedure, recurrence up to six months, and side effects and complications of both groups were collected and analyzed.

Results: The pain response before and after the intervention in two groups were assessed. The results of the intervention were checked through appropriate tests. This study showed that the pain level of people in the RFA and Orthokin group before the intervention did not have a statistically significant difference, but the pain level of the patients after the intervention in the RFA and Orthokine groups differed statistically from each other. (1.74±3.47 vs. 3.30±2.38).