Skip to content

Comparison Between Radiofrequency and Balloon Compression in the Treatment of Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia

Comparative Study Between Radiofrequency and Balloon Compression of the Gasserian Ganglion in the Treatment of Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia

Status
Terminated
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02427074
Enrollment
33
Registered
2015-04-27
Start date
2014-02-01
Completion date
2019-08-30
Last updated
2020-02-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Brief summary

Two percutaneous procedures used in the treatment of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia are analysed. The effects on pain relief, alterations in cutaneous sensibility and olfactory and salivatory functions are analysed as well.

Detailed description

Patients diagnosed with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia, refractory or intolerant to medical treatment, are randomly assigned (after signing a consent form), to receive one of two percutaneous procedures. The patients are evaluated a week before and a week, a month, two months, three months and six months after the surgery. The questionnaires (Short-Form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire - SF-MPQ, Douleur Neuropathique - DN4, Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory - NPSI, Brief Pain Inventory - BPI, Global Clinical Impression - GCI, Hospital Anxiety and Depression - HAD, Brief World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire - WHOQOL-brief, Pain Catastrophizing Scale - PCS) and tests (Quantitative Sensory Testing - QST, olfactory threshold - OT - and discrimination - OD, taste threshold - TT, and salivatory quantification - SQ) are applied as follows: * Pre-op evaluation: SF-MPQ, DN4, BPI, NPSI, HAD, WHOQOL-brief, PCS, QST, OT, OD, TT, SQ. * First visit post-op: SF-MPQ, BPI, NPSI, GCI * Second visit post-op: SF-MPQ, BPI, NPSI, GCI * Third visit post-op: SF-MPQ, BPI, NPSI, GCI * Fourth visit post-op: SF-MPQ, DN4, BPI, NPSI, GCI, WHOQOL-brief, HAD, PCS, QST, OT, TT, SQ. * Fifth visit post-op: SF-MPQ, DN4, BPI, NPSI, GCI, WHOQOL-brief, HAD, PCS, QST, OT, OD, TT, SQ. Patients with pain recurrence are excluded after the last visit attended. An exploratory analysis is made with 30 patients for a proper sample size calculation during the study.

Interventions

PROCEDUREBalloon Compression Rhizotomy

The balloon compression rhizotomy is performed in a percutaneous fashion where a Fogarty catheter is positioned in the gasserian ganglion and inflated with 0,7 milliliters of radiopaque dye during 120 seconds.

PROCEDURERadiofrequency Thermal Coagulation Rhizotomy

The gasserian ganglion is submitted to a controlled thermal coagulation with a electrode with 80 Celsius degrees of temperature during 60 seconds on the specific division.

Sponsors

University of Sao Paulo
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia * Refractory/Intolerable medical treatment * Pain restricted to second or third trigeminal division

Exclusion criteria

* Secondary Trigeminal Neuralgia * Pain restricted to the first trigeminal division * Refuse to participate * Unable to comprehend the questionnaires

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pain relief using numeric rating scale6 monthsWorst pain in the last 24h scale in the Brief Pain Inventory

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Changes in neuropathic pain quality assessed by Douleur Neuropatique 46 monthsDouleur Neuropatique 4
Evaluation of chronic pain and its influence in patients life assessed by Brief Pain Inventory6 monthsBrief Pain Inventory
Changes in types of symptoms of neuropathic pain assessed by Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory6 monthsNeuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory
Changes in quality of life assessed by World Health Organization Quality of Life - brief form6 monthsWorld Health Organization Quality of Life - brief form
Both patient and investigator impression in the treatment assessed by Global Clinical Impression6 monthsGlobal Clinical Impression
Evaluation of how pain affects patients perception assessed by Pain Catastrophizing Scale6 monthsPain Catastrophizing Scale
Changes in how the pain is perceived by the patient assessed by the Short-Form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire6 monthsShort-Form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire
Quantification of facial sensibility changes assessed by Quantitative Sensorial Testing6 monthsQuantitative Sensorial Testing
Changes in olfactory threshold assessed by isopropanol solution6 monthsOlfactory Threshold using isopropanol solution
Changes in gustatory threshold assessed using sweet, sour, salty and bitter solutions6 monthsGustatory Threshold using sweet, sour, salty and bitter solutions
Changes in salivary flow assessed using cotton weights6 monthsEvaluation of salivary flow using cotton weights
Changes in olfactory discrimination assessed using Sniffin' Sticks6 monthsUsing Sniffin' Sticks to evaluate olfactory discrimination
Onset of changes in anxiety or depression assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression6 monthsHospital Anxiety and Depression

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026