A comprehensive prospective study on trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and atypical facial pain (AFP) to evaluate surgical and non-surgical management strategies.

The prospective design with standardised and systematic assessments of the patients and the set up as a real-life study is a major strength of this study. Real world data is difficult to acquire but does offer a more realistic view of the situation. This single centre prospective study will be further developed in to multicentric registry which will be aid for any trigeminal neuralgia and atypical facial pain based clinical research and 5 randomised controlled clinical trials in the future. Studies shows that, group of medically managed patients enrolled in a structured multidisciplinary management program was favourable, defined as a 50% reduction of the overall burden of pain over a two-year period. Continuous advice, education, and support from the multidisciplinary team, along with referral of medically intractable patients for surgery, play crucial roles in managing the natural history of the disease. The favourable prognosis offers hope and optimism for both patients and care providers, indicating that specialist management of the mentioned diseases will be highly rewarding.

This prospective cohort study will be conducted at the Department of neurology and neurosurgery at Amrita hospital. It will include all trigeminal neuralgia and atypical facial pain patients who express their interest to participate in the study by signing the informed consent document. Data collected will encompass demographic and clinical information obtained directly from patient interviews. This data will be recorded directly in the EDC system METAFLO. The entered data will be verified and validated by the PI or the PI’s designee according to the data management plan. The cleaned data will then be statistically analysed and utilized for publications.

The study will be conducted prospectively for 2 years with follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months.