Multiple cranial nerve blocks for the transitional treatment of chronic headaches

BackgroundMultiple cranial nerve blocks of the greater and lesser occipital, supraorbital, supratrochlear and auriculotemporal nerves are widely used in the treatment of primary headaches. We present efficacy and safety data for these procedures.MethodsIn an uncontrolled open-label prospective study, 119 patients with chronic cluster headache, chronic migraine, short lasting unilateral neuralgiform attack disorders, new daily persistent headaches, hemicrania continua and chronic paroxysmal hemicrania were examined. All had failed to respond to greater occipital nerve blocks. Response was defined as a 50% reduction in either daily attack frequency or moderate-to-severe headache days after 2 weeks.ResultsThe response rate of the whole cohort was 55.4%: Chronic cluster headache, 69.2%; chronic migraine, 49.0%; short lasting unilateral neuralgiform attack disorders, 56.3%; new daily persistent headache, 10.0%; hemicrania continua, 83.3%; and chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, 25.0%. Time to benefit was between 0....