Safety and efficacy of radiofrequency treatment for glossopharyngeal neuralgia: a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.

To systematically evaluate the efficacy and recurrence rate of radiofrequency treatment for Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia, providing evidence-based support for clinical treatment. Systematic searches were conducted in databases including CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, PubMed, EMbase, and Cochrane Library from inception to September 30, 2024, for both Chinese and English literature on radiofrequency treatment of Glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Literature was strictly screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and data were processed and analyzed using RevMan 5.4 software for Meta-analysis. A total of 13 studies involving 437 patients were ultimately included. Meta-analysis results showed that Radiofrequency treatment resulted in significant improvements in pain scores at all postoperative time points (SMD = 3.38 at immediate postoperative, SMD = 4.18 at 1 month,SMD = 3.44 at 3 month,SMD = 2.94 at 6 month, SMD = 2.96 at 12 month) compared to baseline.The efficacy rate within one week after radiofrequency treatment was 84%. The efficacy rate within one year after radiofrequency treatment was 80%. The recurrence rate within one year after radiofrequency treatment was 13%. The incidence of complications within one year after radiofrequency treatment was 29%. Sensitivity analysis results indicated that the findings of this study are robust. Publication bias analysis showed that there is a low likelihood of publication bias in this study. Radiofrequency treatment for glossopharyngeal neuralgia has a good efficacy rate and a low recurrence rate, with radiofrequency thermocoagulation combined with Nerve destroying drugs showing the highest efficacy rate and the lowest recurrence rate, but there are certain complications.