NCT04989660

Phenol Neurolysis of Genicular Nerves for Osteoarthritic Knee Pain

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Kessler Foundation · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

As the aging and obese populations continue to increase, there is a rapidly growing number of people at risk for knee osteoarthritis. Treatment typically starts conservatively with analgesics, physical therapy, and bracing. Intra-articular injections with corticosteroids and/or viscosupplementation may also be utilized in those with persistent knee pain. Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation (GNRFA) is an increasingly employed procedure for refractory osteoarthritic knee pain with promising efficacy for pain relief. However, due to its reliance on expensive equipment, additional staff, and need for specialized rooms (eg. fluoroscopy suite), GNRFA is a costly procedure with limited availability. Chemical neurolysis is an alternative method of nerve ablation using alcohol or phenol utilized in the management of pain. Recent literature has demonstrated good efficacy for pain relief and function with chemical ablation of the genicular nerves using both alcohol and phenol. This study is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study to assess the efficacy of phenol neurolysis of the genicular nerves for pain and function due to refractory osteoarthritic knee pain. We hypothesize that a significant improvement in both pain and function will be observed with chemical neurolysis of the genicular nerves using 6% phenol compared to placebo.

Conditions

• Osteoarthritis, Knee
• Knee Pain Chronic

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	6% aqueous phenol	1.5 mL of 6% aqueous phenol will be injected at each target genicular nerve under ultrasound guidance.
DRUG	Isotonic saline	1.5 mL of isotonic saline will be injected at each target genicular nerve under ultrasound guidance.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-11-01
• Primary completion: 2023-08-01
• Completion: 2023-10-01
• First posted: 2021-08-04
• Last updated: 2022-03-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study