The effectiveness of sphenopalatine ganglion blockade in chronic migraine resistant to medical treatment

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of sphenopalatine ganglion blockade (SPGB) as an alternative treatment for patients with chronic migraine resistant to medical treatment. Methods: In total, 23 patients with chronic migraine resistant to medical treatment underwent 4 sessions of bilateral transnasal SPGB bi-weekly, and the monthly number of headache days, duration, and numerical rating scale (NRS) response results were recorded. Results: Compared with before SPGB, the frequency of migraine attacks per month (23.66 +/- 9.8 vs. 10.5 +/- 11.9 days), duration of headaches (31.3 +/- 16.8 vs. 18.4 +/- 9.8 h), and NRS score (9 +/- 0.99 vs. 5.1 +/- 2.1) all improved significantly (p < 0.05) eight weeks after intervention. Conclusion: Transnasal SPGB is an alternative to conventional therapy because it benefits patients with chronic migraine resistant to medical treatment, is easy to administer, and has few side effects.