The Effectiveness of Intraosseous Basivertebral Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation for the Treatment of Vertebrogenic Low Back Pain: An Updated Systematic Review with Single-Arm Meta-analysis.

" : Funding sources: This investigator-initiated review was supported by a grant from Relievant MedSystems (paid directly to the University of Utah). The sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of the review or in the approval of the final manuscript. The protocol, search, data extraction, and statistical analysis were developed and performed independently. : Disclosures and Conflicts of interest: Dr. Aaron Conger and Dr. Zachary L. McCormick have received investigator-initiated research funding from Relievant MedSystems (paid directly to the University of Utah).: Supplement sponsorship: This article appears as part of the supplement entitled “Vertebrogenic Pain and Basivertebral Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation” sponsored by Relievant Medsystems Inc.: Study registration: PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020192001)."

"There are important limitations to this review and for the existing literature related to BVN RFA. RCTs, although not without their own limitations [, ], continue to represent the gold-standard study design in medical research []. Despite the growing interest in the treatment of vertebrogenic LBP, the present updated review found no new RCTs examining BVN RFA compared with sham or any other treatment. The majority of studies that met the inclusion criteria were supported by industry funding. When the evidence for treatment comes entirely from industry-funded studies, there is an increased risk for bias given the inherent conflict of interest, limiting the publication of negative results [, ]. However, it is notable that results from two independently performed studies show similarly high proportions of patients reporting clinically significant pain relief and functional improvement up to 12 months after BVN RFA [, ]. The present review was supported by an investigator-initiated research grant from Relievant Medsystems, which produces a device frequently used for BVN RFA. However, the sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of the review or approval of the final manuscript. The protocol, search, data extraction, and statistical analysis were all developed and performed independently without input or oversight from the sponsor.  : Funding sources: This investigator-initiated review was supported by a grant from Relievant MedSystems (paid directly to the University of Utah). The sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of the review or in the approval of the final manuscript. The protocol, search, data extraction, and statistical analysis were developed and performed independently. : Disclosures and Conflicts of interest: Dr. Aaron Conger and Dr. Zachary L. McCormick have received investigator-initiated research funding from Relievant MedSystems (paid directly to the University of Utah).: Supplement sponsorship: This article appears as part of the supplement entitled “Vertebrogenic Pain and Basivertebral Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation” sponsored by Relievant Medsystems Inc.: Study registration: PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020192001)."

"This systematic review is an update of a prior systematic review for which the protocol was registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020192001) on July 14, 2020. No changes were made to the review methodology, but to avoid redundancy, a ≥15-point Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) threshold was chosen to measure functional improvement []. A 15-point ODI improvement is a robust threshold that exceeds the known minimum clinically important difference for chronic LBP [, ]. The methods and results are reported in accordance with the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines [].  : Funding sources: This investigator-initiated review was supported by a grant from Relievant MedSystems (paid directly to the University of Utah). The sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of the review or in the approval of the final manuscript. The protocol, search, data extraction, and statistical analysis were developed and performed independently. : Disclosures and Conflicts of interest: Dr. Aaron Conger and Dr. Zachary L. McCormick have received investigator-initiated research funding from Relievant MedSystems (paid directly to the University of Utah).: Supplement sponsorship: This article appears as part of the supplement entitled “Vertebrogenic Pain and Basivertebral Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation” sponsored by Relievant Medsystems Inc.: Study registration: PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020192001)."