Three Selection Criteria Predict Success of CT-Guided Pudendal Nerve Cryoablation

Applying 3 pre-procedural criteria—identifiable antecedent event, unilateral pudendal-distribution pain, positive diagnostic nerve block—nearly doubled ≥50% pain relief rates in CT-guided pudendal cryoablation (77.4% vs. 36.4%, p=0.002). Retrospective; only 37% of cases had adeq…

• Retrospective, multi-site academic analysis of 362 CT-guided pudendal nerve cryoablations over 10 years; 75 unilateral procedures with adequate follow-up formed the primary cohort.
• Criteria-positive patients achieved mean pain reduction of 69.1% vs. 29.5% in criteria-negative patients (p<0.001); among criteria-positive responders specifically, mean reduction was 88.8%. Mean time to repeat procedure was 31.8 months. No major (SIR grade C–F) adverse events occurred.
• Key limitation: substantial loss to follow-up—only 75 of 202 unilateral procedures (37.1%) had evaluable outcomes—introducing significant selection bias and limiting generalizability.

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