Clinical study of radiofrequency thermocoagulation guided with DSA positioning for treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of radiofrequency thermocoagulation on the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia guided with digital substraction angiography(DSA) in short-term,mid-term prospect.Methods:Twenty-seven patients of PTN were positioned by DSA,then treated with radiofrequency thermocoagulation.The VAS scores,clinical efficacy and complication were observed nearly post-treatment.The effects in mid-term was assessed in secondary follow-up.Results:All patients were punctured successfully.After treatment,all patients have pain relief.VAS scores on day 1,day 3,week 1 after radiofrequency thermocoagulation were 2.12±0.64,1.04±1.02,0.46±0.31 respectively,decreased compared with that before treatment(P0.01),and the satisfactory rate were 55.6%,74.1%,92.6% respectively.No serious complication occurred in all of the patients.22 patients were invovled in the follow-up survey 1 year after radiofrequency thermocoagulation,and the satisfactory rate was 86.4%,1 patient recurred,the recurrence rate was 4.5%.Conclusion:Radiofrequency thermocoagulation guided with DSA for the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia is effective and safe.