Effectiveness of the Treatment of Rhinogenic Headache Caused by Intranasal Contact

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the surgical and nonsurgical treatment of headache caused by contact points (CPs) between the nasal septum and inferior or middle turbinate.

The research was designed as a prospective clinical case-series study. The patients with CP headaches were offered to choose between 2 treatment options, surgery and medical treatment. Two groups of surgically treated patients (surgery groups 1 and 2, depending on whether there is a contact between nasal septum and inferior turbinate or middle turbinate) were evaluated and compared for headache intensity and frequency. Headache intensity was measured using a visual analog scale value from 0 to 10; the frequency of headache was expressed as the number of days during 1 month with a headache (before surgery, 1 month, and 6 months after surgery). A comparison was also made between surgically and nonsurgically treated patients.

We found more intensive and frequent headache in patients who had CP between the nasal septum and the middle turbinate (P = .038 and P = .003, respectively). A significant reduction in headache intensity and frequency was found in both groups of surgically treated patients 6 months after surgery; however, this reduction was more significant in patients with mucosal contact between nasal septum and middle turbinate. The nonsurgical treatment made a significant reduction of headache intensity and frequency at 1-month follow-up (P = .012 and P = .031, respectively), but not at 6-month follow-up (P = .114 and P = .088, respectively).

Surgery gave a statistically significant reduction in the intensity and frequency of headache, which was assessed 6 months after surgery. Surgery was found as superior to nonsurgical treatment in the therapy of CP headache.