Categories
Change Password!
Reset Password!
Treatment options for cluster headache (CH) include acute, transitional and prophylactic strategies.
In an occipital
nerve block injection, a needle is inserted at the base of the skull and the
medication is injected around the origin of greater occipital nerve. Throughout
this research article, this nerve block proved to be highly promising for
curbing the headaches.
Treatment options
for cluster headache (CH) include acute, transitional and prophylactic
strategies. We assessed the efficacy and safety of a single occipital nerve
block (ONB) in patients with episodic (eCH) and chronic CH (cCH).
In this
prospective, observational study 101 CH were treated with a single ONB using
triamcinolone 10 mg and bupivacaine. Attack frequency, pain intensity and side
effects were assessed at days 1 and 7 after ONB and thereafter weekly for 60
days until recurrence of attacks.
Baseline mean
daily attack frequency was 2.9 ± 2.5 (eCH) and 3.3 ± 2.9 (cCH), which was
reduced to 0.7 ± 1.2 (eCH) and 1.1 ± 1.4 (cCH) after one day (p = 0.08 for
group difference) and to 1.1 ± 1.6 (eCH) and 1.9 ± 2.3 (cCH) after seven days
(p = 0.01 for group difference). In patients with eCH the pain-free period
lasted longer compared to cCH (p = 0.004). There was no association between the
presence of local anesthesia and treatment response (p = 0.88). No serious
adverse events occurred.
ONB is an easy,
safe and effective transitional treatment option in case of insufficient
response of CH to treatment both in patients with eCH and cCH. Patients with
eCH have a better and more sustainable treatment response.
Cephalalgia
Efficacy and safety of a single occipital nerve blockade in episodic and chronic cluster headache: A prospective observational study
Charly Gaul et al.
Comments (0)