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Subcutaneous Trigeminal Nerve Field Stimulation for Refractory Facial Pain
Published on: May 10, 2017
Long-term Outcomes of Computerized Tomography-Guided Sphenopalatine Ganglion-Targeted Pulsed Radiofrequency for
Zheng Chen1, Hao Ren1, Chunmei Zhao1
1Department of Pain Management, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Objective:
To further evaluate the efficacy and safety of computerized tomography-guided sphenopalatine ganglion-targeted pulsed radiofrequency treatment for patients with refractory episodic and chronic cluster headache (CH).
Methods:
Forty-five patients with refractory episodic CH and 14 patients with chronic CH who underwent computerized tomography-guided sphenopalatine ganglion-targeted pulsed radiofrequency between January 2011 and December 2018 at the Beijing Tiantan Hospital were included and analyzed in this retrospective cohort study.
Results:
A total of 59 patients underwent 106 computerized tomography-guided pulsed radiofrequency procedures throughout the observational period. Effective remission was observed in 95.6% and 64.3% of patients with refractory episodic and chronic CH, respectively. Repeated computerized tomography-guided sphenopalatine ganglion-targeted pulsed radiofrequency procedures for recurrent CH was also proven to be effective. No severe side effects or complications were observed in this study.
Conclusion:
The computerized tomography-guided sphenopalatine ganglion-targeted pulsed radiofrequency procedure is an effective, safe, and repeatedly effective strategy for refractory CH. For patients who have not responded to conservative treatment, this minimally invasive intervention is a reliable alternative.
