Greater Occipital Nerve Block for Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension
- Conditions
- Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension
- Registration Number
- NCT06374524
- Lead Sponsor
- University Health Network, Toronto
- Brief Summary
Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension (SIH) is a debilitating neurological disorder caused by a cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF), with an estimated incidence of 5 per 100,000 persons per year, of which mostly women between the ages of 35 years and 55 years. The typical presentation is moderate-to-severe orthostatic headache and several other possible neurological symptoms, that significantly impact patients' quality of life.
Treatment of SIH usually starts with conservative measures, consisting of strict supine bed rest, hydration, caffeine, and simple analgesics. The vast majority of patients will require invasive treatments for their CSF leak, such as epidural blood patches, fibrin glue patches, endovascular coiling, and/or surgical repair. These specialized treatments are only offered in tertiary care centers and require specialized personnel and resources, which implicates a certain waiting time for the patients before permanent treatment is offered. In the meantime, due to the lack of an effective and accessible alternative, patients continue to suffer.
The greater occipital nerve block (GONB) has been reported as a simple, safe, and effective treatment to provide short-to-intermediate term relief of migraine, cervicogenic headache, cluster headache, occipital neuralgia, and more recently, post-dural puncture headaches (PDPH). As the pathophysiology of intracranial hypotension caused by SIH or PDPH is very similar, it is stipulated that the effect of GONB will be similar for SIH patients. However, to date, no studies exploring the efficacy of GONB for SIH have been performed.
The investigators propose to do a prospective observational study to explore the outcome of GONB for SIH. GONB can serve as a bridge therapy to control the debilitating headache of SIH while patients are awaiting permanent SIH treatment. Moreover, GONB can be performed by physicians of different specialties including neurology, which makes it an accessible treatment for all patients. Lastly, by offering better symptom control, this intervention could potentially restore patients' ability to work and reduce healthcare costs.
- Detailed Description
This a prospective observational study on 34 patients with SIH, recruited from the Toronto Western Hospital Intracranial Hypotension Clinic. Patients will receive an ultrasound-guided bilateral GONB of 5 mls of injectate of mix of local anesthetic with steroid. There is no comparator. Primary outcome is the change in intensity of headache at 30 minutes post-intervention. Secondary outcomes are change in intensity up to day 14 post-intervention, onset of headache, sitting endurance, change in SIH-associated central nervous system (CNS) symptoms, emotional functioning, patient satisfaction, analgesic consumption and side-effect, up to 14 days post-intervention
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- NOT_YET_RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 34
Not provided
Not provided
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in headache intensity 30 minutes post intervention The difference in the change in intensity of headache, as measured on an 11-point Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), measured 30 minutes after the intervention, after being positioned in an upright position for 10 minutes, compared to baseline.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Onset of headache at 30 minutes post-intervention and on the morning of day 1, 3, 7, and 14 post-intervention The time of onset or worsening of headache when positioned in a sitting position
Sitting endurance at 30 minutes post-intervention and on the morning of days 1, 3, 7, and 14 post-intervention (in minutes The duration of tolerance in an upright position (i.e. how long the patient can stay in an upright position until the headache becomes unbearable and urges the patient to lie down))
patient satisfaction at day 14 post-intervention patient impression of change, as measured by the Participant Global Impression of Change (PGIC)
analgesic consumption daily up to day 14 Analgesic requirement will be measured daily, by intake frequency and dose of analgesics and average daily oral morphine equivalent (OME) in mg
SIH associated central nerve system symptoms, such hearing loss, tinnitus, tremor, balance difficulties at 30 minutes post-intervention and on days 1, 3, 7, and 14 post-intervention To assess the impact of SIH-associated symptoms such as tinnitus, tremor, and balance abnormalities
adverse effects daily up to day 14 Level of Pain Catastrophizing at Day 14 post-intervention Emotional functioning as measured by the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)
pain intensity day 1,3,7,14 The difference in the change in intensity of headache, as measured on an 11-point Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) where 0 means no pain and 10 worst pain imaginable
Level of generalized anxiety at day 14 post-intervention Emotional functioning as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 items (GAD-7)
Level of depression at Day 14 post-intervention Emotional functioning as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression-9-items (PHQ-9)