The success rate and associated risk factors of CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency sympathectomy in the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis: A retrospective observational trial.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the success rate of surgical technique and associated risk factors based on the follow-up of patients who underwent CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency sympathectomy (RFS) to treat primary hyperhidrosis (PH).

METHODS

370 patients who underwent RFS for PH treatment between January 2018 and April 2022 were enrolled. Patients responded to a questionnaire and telephone follow-up on the effects of treatment and their electronic medical records and imaging findings were reviewed. Logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors related to the success rate of surgical technique.

RESULTS

A temperature difference ≥2 °C before and after procedure was defined as a successful surgical technique. Among the 370 patients (740 sides), 637 sides had successful RFS, and the technical success rate was 86.1 %. Immediately after procedure, 636 sides (85.9 %) were completely dry, 64 (8.7 %) were partially dry, and 40 (5.4 %) were still wet. During the longest follow-up period (54 months), 103 patients relapsed. The median hyperhidrosis disease severity scale score on both sides decreased from 4 to 1 after RFS. According to logistic regression analysis, only the pre-post pulse index was associated with the success rate of surgical technique (odds ratio, 1.14; 95 % confidence interval, 1.06-1.23; p = 0.0004).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed that the immediate efficiency and success rate of surgical technique after RFS for PH treatment were relatively high, although there is a possibility of recurrence in the long term. In general, RFS is a safe and effective procedure for alleviating the symptoms of patients with hyperhidrosis.