The effectiveness and safety of cranial nerve block in migraine: a critical review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48208/HeadacheMed.2023.3Keywords:
Migraine, Episodic migraine, Chronic migraine, Cranial nerve block, Greater occipital nerve block, Lesser occipital nerve blockAbstract
Cranial nerve blocks (CNBs) have been used for the acute and preventive treatment of a variety of headaches, including migraine. The effectiveness of CNBs in migraine is usually observed beyond the duration of the nerve block, possibly due to central pain modulation. The most used target is the greater occipital nerve. Other commonly targeted nerves are the lesser occipital nerve and various branches of the trigeminal nerve, including the supratrochlear, supraorbital, and auriculotemporal nerves. CNBs are generally safe and well-tolerated procedures that can be performed in either emergency or outpatient settings. There is currently no guideline standardizing CNBs in migraine. In clinical practice, as well as the few published studies, the results are encouraging, justifying further studies in the area. In the present study we critically review the literature about the safety and efficacy of CNBs in the treatment of migraine attacks and in the preventive treatment of migraine.
Downloads
References
Ashina M, Buse DC, Ashina H, Pozo-Rosich P, Peres MFP, Lee MJ, . . . Dodick DW. Migraine: integrated approaches to clinical management and emerging treatments. The Lancet 2021;397(10283):1505-1518 Doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(20)32342-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32342-4
Ashina M, Katsarava Z, Do TP, Buse DC, Pozo-Rosich P, Ozge A, . . . Lipton RB. Migraine: epidemiology and systems of care. Lancet 2021;397(10283):1485-1495 Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32160-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32160-7
Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache S. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version). Cephalalgia 2013;33(9):629-808 Doi: 10.1177/0333102413485658 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102413485658
Cutrer FM. Pathophysiology of migraine. Semin Neurol 2006;26(2):171-180 Doi: 10.1055/s-2006-939917 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-939917
Özge A and Uluduz D (2019) Introduction to interventional procedures; timing and patient selection. In: Ozge A, Uluduz D, Karadas O, Bolay H (eds) Peripheral interventional management in headache. Springer, pp 7–16. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-030- 10853-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10853-3_1
Ashkenazi A, Blumenfeld A, Napchan U, Narouze S, Grosberg B, Nett R, . . . Lipton RB. Peripheral Nerve Blocks and Trigger Point Injections in Headache Management - A Systematic Review and Suggestions for Future Research. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 2010;50(6):943-952 Doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01675.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01675.x
Caputi CA and Firetto V. Therapeutic Blockade of Greater Occipital and Supraorbital Nerves in Migraine Patients. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 1997;37(3):174-179 Doi: 10.1046/j.1526-4610.1997.3703174.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1526-4610.1997.3703174.x
Friedman BW, Mohamed S, Robbins MS, Irizarry E, Tarsia V, Pearlman S and John Gallagher E. A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial of Bilateral Greater Occipital Nerve Blocks With Bupivacaine for Acute Migraine Patients Refractory to Standard Emergency Department Treatment With Metoclopramide. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 2018;58(9):1427-1434 Doi: 10.1111/head.13395 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/head.13395
Allen SM, Mookadam F, Cha SS, Freeman JA, Starling AJ and Mookadam M. Greater Occipital Nerve Block for Acute Treatment of Migraine Headache: A Large Retrospective Cohort Study. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 2018;31(2):211-218 Doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2018.02.170188 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2018.02.170188
Ebied AM, Nguyen DT and Dang T. Evaluation of Occipital Nerve Blocks for Acute Pain Relief of Migraines. The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2019;60(3):378-383 Doi: 10.1002/jcph.1528 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcph.1528
Cuadrado ML, Aledo-Serrano Á, López-Ruiz P, Gutiérrez-Viedma Á, Fernández C, Orviz A and Arias JA. Greater occipital nerve block for the acute treatment of prolonged or persistent migraine aura. Cephalalgia 2016;37(8):812-818 Doi: 10.1177/0333102416655160 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102416655160
Inan LE, Inan N, Karadaş Ö, Gül HL, Erdemoğlu AK, Türkel Y and Akyol A. Greater occipital nerve blockade for the treatment of chronic migraine: a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica 2015;132(4):270-277 Doi: 10.1111/ane.12393 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ane.12393
Kashipazha D, Nakhostin-Mortazavi A, Mohammadianinejad SE, Bahadoram M, Zandifar S and Tarahomi S. Preventive Effect of Greater Occipital Nerve Block on Severity and Frequency of Migraine Headache. Global Journal of Health Science 2014;6(6):Doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v6n6p209 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v6n6p209
Dilli E, Halker R, Vargas B, Hentz J, Radam T, Rogers R and Dodick D. Occipital nerve block for the short-term preventive treatment of migraine: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Cephalalgia 2014;35(11):959-968 Doi: 10.1177/0333102414561872 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102414561872
Palamar D, Uluduz D, Saip S, Erden G, Unalan H and Akarirmak U. Ultrasound-guided greater occipital nerve block: an efficient technique in chronic refractory migraine without aura? Pain Physician 2015;18(2):153-162 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36076/ppj/2015.18.153
Ünal-Artık HA, İnan LE, Ataç-Uçar C and Yoldaş TK. Do bilateral and unilateral greater occipital nerve block effectiveness differ in chronic migraine patients? Neurological Sciences 2017;38(6):949-954 Doi: 10.1007/s10072-017-2861-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-017-2861-5
Inan N, Inan LE, Coskun O, Tunc T and Ilhan M. Effectiveness of Greater Occipital Nerve Blocks in Migraine Prophylaxis. Noro Psikiyatr Ars 2016;53(1):45-48 Doi: 10.5152/npa.2015.10003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5152/npa.2015.10003
Okmen K, Dagistan Y, Dagistan E, Kaplan N and Cancan E. Efficacy of the greater occipital nerve block in recurrent migraine type headaches. Neurol Neurochir Pol 2016;50(3):151-154 Doi: 10.1016/j.pjnns.2016.01.015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pjnns.2016.01.015
Schwarz A, Ziegeler C, Daneshkhah S, May A and Luedtke K. Predicting the outcome of the greater occipital nerve block - an observational study on migraine patients with and without musculoskeletal cervical impairment. Cephalalgia 2021;41(1):78-89 Doi: 10.1177/0333102420954518 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102420954518
Fernandes L, Khan N, Dobson J, Randall M and Idrovo L. Multiple Cranial Nerve Blocks as an Alternative Preventative Therapy for Chronic Migraine. Headache 2020;60(5):981-987 Doi: 10.1111/head.13792 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/head.13792
Anderson S, Stebbins GT. Determinants of placebo effects. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2020;153:27-47. Doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.03.029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irn.2020.03.029
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Annelise Akemi Higa Lee, Renan Barros Domingues (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
