Demographic Factors Influencing the Need for Repeat Radiofrequency Ablation in Chronic Pain Management: A Retrospective Study

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a common noninvasive intervention for chronic pain management; however, the large variability in patient response underscores the need to better understand factors impacting treatment and patient outcomes. This study investigated whether demographic variables, specifically race, sex, age, and body mass index (BMI), are associated with the frequency of repeat RFA procedures in patients with chronic pain.

This retrospective case series study was conducted at a single outpatient academic pain management clinic. A total of 170 clinic patients (mean age: 58.8 years; mean BMI: 31.5) who underwent at least two radiofrequency ablation (RFA) procedures between January 2019 and January 2023 were included. All patients had complete demographic and procedural data and at least one follow-up visit after their initial RFA; patients with incomplete or missing records or no follow-up visits were excluded. The primary outcome measure was the number of RFA procedures per patient.

One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated no statistically significant differences in the number of repeat RFA procedures across racial groups (F(4,165) = 0.58, p = 0.68) or between genders (F(1,168) = 1.85, p = 0.18). Linear regression analysis found no statistically significant associations between number of repeat RFA procedures and age (F(1,168) = 3.06, p = 0.08) or BMI (F(1,166) = 0.00, p = 0.95). Ordered logistic regression further illustrated that the demographic variables examined - race, sex, age, BMI - were not associated with the number of repeat RFA procedures (χ²(4) = 5.53, p = 0.24).  Conclusions: Overall, our results showed that demographics including sex, race, age, and BMI were not associated with the frequency of RFA procedures in chronic pain management. Other variables like procedural variance, social support, or other comorbidities may serve as better potential determinants for treatment response and pain outcomes. These findings suggest that demographic variables alone may not explain variability in repeat RFA utilization.