الفهرس 
AcknowledgementOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a painful condition affecting the face. It has a significant adverse impact on the quality of life and functioning of the patients. Sluijter and colleagues described a novel type of radiofrequency called pulsed radiofrequency treatment (PRFT). PRFT is considered as a non-destructive technique as it will not cause tissue degeneration but treats neuropathic pain by modulation rather than blocking pain signals transduction. PRFT is safe and effective in various painful disorders. Patients and Methods: Sixty patients with idiopathic TN were randomly divided into three groups. group A patients underwent PRF using the standard settings (two cycles, each one for 2 minutes at 45 V), group B patients underwent PRF with prolonged duration (four cycles, each one for 2 minutes at 45V) and group C patients underwent PRF with higher voltage (two cycles, each one for 2 minutes at 60V). VAS and pain amplitude reduction were recorded before the intervention and 1 hour, 1 day, 1week, 1 month, 6 months and 1year after it. Quality of life was assessed before and 1 year after the intervention. Results: In group A, pain amplitud reduction 1 hour, 1 day, 1week, 1 month, 6 months and 12 months were 84%, 71%, 59%, 59%, 55% and 39% respectively (P<0.0005). In group B were 90.6%, 78.6%, 71%, 60.8%, 63% and 50% (P<0.0005). In group C patients were 82.6%, 69%, 68%, 56.6%, 55% and 34% (P<0.0005). By comparing pain amplitude reduction among the groups, group B showed the greater pain amplitude reduction followed by group C then group A. There was significant improvement in the quality of life scores in the 3 groups. Conclusion: Longer duration of PRF application (group B) showed the highest efficacy in pain reduction than higher voltage (group C) and the standard settings (group A). Longer duration of PRF is an effective and safe method for TN treatment.