Greater occipital nerve block using local anaesthetics alone or with triamcinolone for transformed migraine: A randomised comparative study

Avi Ashkenazi, R. Matro, J. W. Shaw, M. A. Abbas, S. D. Silberstein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

125 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether adding triamcinolone to local anaesthetics increased the efficacy of greater occipital nerve block (GONB) and trigger-point injections (TPIs) for transformed migraine (TM). Methods: Patients with TM were randomised to receive GONB and TPIs using lidocaine 2% and bupivacaine 0.5% + either saline or triamcinolone 40 mg. We assessed the severity of headache and associated symptoms before and 20 minutes after injection. Patients documented headache and severity of associated symptoms for 4 weeks after injections. Changes in symptom severity were compared between the two groups. Results: Thirty-seven patients were included. Twenty minutes after injection, mean headache severity decreased by 3.2 points in group A (p<0.01) and by 3.1 points in group B (p<0.01). Mean neck pain severity decreased by 1.5 points in group A (p<0.01) and by 1.7 points in group B (p<0.01). Mean duration of being headache-free was 2.7 ± 3.8 days in group A and 1.0 ± 1.1 days in group B (p = 0.67). None of the outcome measures differed significantly between the two groups. Both treatments were well tolerated. Conclusions: Adding triamcinolone to local anaesthetics when performing GONB and TPIs was not associated with improved outcome in this sample of patients with TM.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)415-417
Number of pages3
JournalJournal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
Volume79
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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