Local injection therapy for cervicogenic headache and occipital neuralgia
HAYES, Inc
Record ID 32018000031
English
Authors' recommendations:
Rationale:
For some patients with cervicogenic headache or occipital neuralgia, conservative medical treatments, including oral analgesics and physical therapy, may be sufficient to relieve pain. However, a population of patients with refractory pain may require more invasive treatments, including injection therapy or surgical interventions.
Technology Description:
Local injection with analgesic medications or botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) may be used to provide pain relief in patients with conditions, including cervicogenic headache and occipital neuralgia. For these conditions,
injections are provided in the area of the greater or lesser occipital nerve or along tender points in the cervical muscles.
Controversy:
Although there is evidence that injection therapy can provide pain relief, the duration of relief may be brief, and injections may need to be administered every few weeks or months to sustain pain relief. Regarding safety, BTX-A carries a black box warning detailing the risk of distant spread of toxin outside the area of injection. This can cause symptoms consistent with the effects of botulinum toxin exposure, including difficulties with swallowing and breathing, which can be fatal.
Key Questions:
Is injection therapy effective in treating occipital neuralgia or cervicogenic headache? How does injection therapy compare with alternative treatments for occipital neuralgia or cervicogenic headache? Is injection therapy safe? Have definitive patient selection criteria been identified for injection therapy?
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2017
URL for published report:
The report may be purchased from:
http://www.hayesinc.com/hayes/crd/?crd=72906
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
United States
MeSH Terms
- Headache
- Humans
- Injections
- Neck Pain
- Neuralgia
- Post-Traumatic Headache
Contact
Organisation Name:
HAYES, Inc.
Contact Address:
157 S. Broad Street, Suite 200, Lansdale, PA 19446, USA. Tel: 215 855 0615; Fax: 215 855 5218
Contact Name:
saleinfo@hayesinc.com
Contact Email:
saleinfo@hayesinc.com
Copyright:
Winifred S. Hayes, Inc
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.