Midterm Clinical Outcomes of Repetitive Transnasal Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blockade in Chronic Migraine

Abstract

Aim: Chronic migraine affects quality of life negatively, causing high rates of disabilities. There is a requirement for specific prophylactic treatment options in chronic migraine patients. We aimed to evaluate effects of repetitive transnasal sphenopalatine ganglion blockade (SPG) on headache days, severity and duration of attacks, drug abuse, conversion to episodic migraine, and responses to chronic migraine treatment. Materials and Methods: Diagnosed with chronic migraine for at least six months, patients referred to the algology clinic and unresponsive to prophylactic treatments or not tolerating prophylactic treatments were evaluated in the study with a retrospective design. Patients undergoing four-session bilateral transnasal SPG blockade per week were included. SPG was performed with 0.5 cc 0.5% bupivacaine-impregnated swab sticks for 30 minutes. Results: In first, third, sixth, and ninth month follow-ups of 40 patients included, a statistically significant improvement was found in number of headache days and parameters of attack severity and frequency, compared to baseline values (p