School of Anesthesiology, Weifang Medical University & Department of Anesthesiology, Pain & Sleep Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong Province; Savaid Medical School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Sleep Medicine, Aviation General Hospital of China Medical University and Beijing Institute of Translational Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Med Gas Res. 2023 Jan-Mar;13(1):15-22. doi: 10.4103/2045-9912.352660.
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a devastating disease with extraordinarily poor treatment outcomes. Both pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) and ozone have good effects on the treatment of the disease. However, whether PRF and ozone have a synergistic effect on PHN remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the therapeutic effects of ozone alone and in combination with PRF in the treatment of PHN. Ninety-one patients with PHN were assigned into two groups: PRF combined with ozone (PRF + ozone group, n = 44) and ozone therapy alone (ozone group, n = 47). In PRF + ozone group, the high-voltage, long-duration PRF was applied to the target dorsal root ganglions. Then ozonated water (11.5 µg/mL) was injected through the inner cannula. In the ozone group, all other processes were the same as those in the PRF + ozone group apart from the electrical stimulation. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by visual analog scale and tactile sensation at pre-treatment and post-treatment 3, 6, and 12 months. Compared with pre-treatment data, the visual analog scale score was significantly decreased in both groups after treatment. Compared with the ozone group, the visual analog scale score was significantly decreased in the PRF + ozone group at 3, 6, and 12 months. Similarly, the tactile sensation was also significantly decreased at post-treatment when compared to pre-treatment. However, there were no statistical differences between the two groups. Regression analysis results showed that the history of diabetes mellitus and age had significant negative and positive effects, respectively, on the treatment results. To conclude, the administration of PRF + ozone and ozone therapy alone could both improve pain symptoms. Moreover, treatment effects and total efficacy rates tended to be higher for the combination of PRF and ozone than ozone alone. This conclusion was especially true for long-term therapeutic effects.
带状疱疹后神经痛 (PHN) 是一种破坏性疾病，治疗效果极差。脉冲射频 (PRF) 和臭氧对该疾病的治疗均有较好的效果。然而，PRF 和臭氧联合应用于 PHN 是否具有协同作用尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在评估臭氧单独和联合 PRF 治疗 PHN 的疗效。91 例 PHN 患者分为两组：PRF 联合臭氧（PRF+臭氧组，n=44）和臭氧治疗组（臭氧组，n=47）。在 PRF+臭氧组中，对目标背根神经节施加高压、长时程 PRF，然后通过内套管注入臭氧水（11.5μg/mL）。在臭氧组中，除了电刺激外，所有其他过程均与 PRF+臭氧组相同。在治疗前、治疗后 3、6 和 12 个月时，采用视觉模拟量表和触觉评估治疗效果。与治疗前数据相比，两组治疗后视觉模拟量表评分均显著降低。与臭氧组相比，PRF+臭氧组在治疗后 3、6 和 12 个月时视觉模拟量表评分显著降低。同样，触觉在治疗后与治疗前相比也显著降低。然而，两组之间无统计学差异。回归分析结果表明，糖尿病病史和年龄分别对治疗结果有显著的负向和正向影响。总之，PRF+臭氧和臭氧治疗单独应用均可改善疼痛症状。此外，PRF 和臭氧联合应用的治疗效果和总有效率趋于高于单独臭氧治疗。对于长期治疗效果，这一结论更为明显。
