Radiofrequency Versus Cervical Fusion for Chronic Whiplash
CompletedNCT07535515
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Chronic neck pain after whiplash injury is a common and disabling condition that can significantly affect quality of life, daily activities, and psychological well-being. In some patients, pain persists for months or years despite conservative treatments, leading to consideration of more invasive therapeutic options. Two commonly used treatments in selected patients are cervical zygapophyseal (facet) joint radiofrequency and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), but their comparative long-term outcomes in routine clinical practice are not well defined. This study aims to compare the clinical, functional, and psychological outcomes of patients with chronic post-traumatic cervical whiplash who were treated either with cervical medial branch radiofrequency or with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. The study uses a retrospective observational design based on the review of medical records from a tertiary hospital over a 20-year period. Adult patients diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic whiplash and treated between 2005 and 2025 are included. All treatments were performed as part of usual clinical care and were not assigned for research purposes. Data collected include patient characteristics, injury mechanism, type of treatment received, pain intensity, functional disability, psychological symptoms, need for repeat procedures or additional surgery, and clinical follow-up information. The primary objective is to compare pain relief between the two treatment groups. Secondary objectives include comparison of functional recovery, duration of treatment benefit, recurrence of pain, psychological symptoms, need for further interventions, and return to daily activities or work. By analyzing long-term real-world data, this study seeks to improve understanding of the relative effectiveness of cervical radiofrequency and surgical fusion for chronic whiplash pain, helping clinicians and patients make more informed treatment decisions. No new interventions are per…
Study details
- Official title
- Comparative Effectiveness of Cervical Zygapophyseal Joint Radiofrequency Versus Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion in Chronic Post-Traumatic Whiplash: A Retrospective Cohort Study
- Conditions
- Whiplash Injury
- Whiplash Injury of Cervical Spine
- Chronic Neck Pain
- Post-Traumatic Neck Pain
- Sponsor
- University of Valencia
- Start date
- 2005-01
- Primary completion
- 2025-12
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Spain
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria * Adults aged 18 years or older at the time of treatment. * Clinical diagnosis of chronic post-traumatic cervical whiplash, with symptoms persisting for at least 3 months following the traumatic event. * Cervical pain attributed to a traumatic acceleration-deceleration mechanism (whiplash injury). * Treatment with either: * cervical medial branch radiofrequency, or * anterior cervical discectomy and fusion performed as part of routine clinical care. Exclusion Criteria * Cervical pain primarily attributable to non-traumatic conditions, including degenerative cervical disease, inflammatory disorders, neoplastic disease, infection, radiculopathy, or cervical myelopathy. * History of previous cervical spine surgery before the index treatment, which could interfere with the assessment of treatment outcomes. * Patients who received both cervical radiofrequency and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the same clinical episode of whiplash-related pain. * Cervical procedures performed outside the Hospital General Universitario de Valencia or without verifiable technical documentation in the medical record. Insufficient clinical documentation to confirm the diagnosis of post-traumatic whiplash or to evaluate pain, functional, or psychological outcomes after treatment. * Absence of clinical follow-up data after the index treatment. * Age under 18 years at the time of treatment. Availability of clinical follow-up data after treatment that allows assessment of pain and/or functional outcomes. Treatment performed at the Hospital General Universitario de Valencia between 2005 and 2025.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07535515