Comparison of analgesic effect in celiac plexus neurolysis: Ethanol injection with or without iodine-125 radioactive seeds implantation.

CONTEXT: Currently, short-term recurrence of pain is the biggest clinical challenge of celiac plexus neurolysis for patients with refractory abdominal cancer pain.

AIM: To evaluate the analgesic effect and safety of celiac plexus neurolysis using ethanol injection combined with iodine-125 (125I) radioactive seed implantation for refractory abdominal cancer pain.

SETTINGS AND

DESIGN

The study was a randomized controlled trial.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: About 10 patients with severe refractory abdominal cancer pain were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly divided into group A (ethanol injection combined with 125I radioactive seed implantation, n = 5) and group B (ethanol injection alone, n = 5). The primary end point was pain relief measured by means of numerical rating scale (NRS). And the secondary end point was mean administration of analgesic drugs and the safety of the procedure.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Repeated measures of analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The NRS scores were significantly reduced by 24 h postprocedure in both groups (group A: P = 0.001 and group B: P = 0.001). Group A did not show significant recurrence based on NRS scores during the follow-up period. In contrast, the NRS scores recurred significantly in group B by 1 month postprocedure (P = 0.026). The intake of analgesic drugs was significantly reduced in both the groups postprocedure (group A: P = 0.013 and group B: P = 0.013). Overall, it was significantly lower in group A than in group B (P = 0.041). No treatment-related deaths or major complications were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Celiac plexus neurolysis using ethanol injection in combination with 125I radioactive seed implantation has a longer analgesic duration than using ethanol injection alone. It could be a safe and long-lasting analgesic approach for managing refractory abdominal cancer pain.