title: Sphenopalatine endoscopic ganglion block in cluster headache: a reevaluation of the procedure after 5 years.
abstract: Cluster headache (CH) is considered the most painful form of primary headaches. It is characterized by severe unilateral pain, typically associated with autonomic manifestations and may be divided into an episodic and a chronic form. The latter is often resistant to a multitude of medication and is, therefore, very hard to treat. In 2002, our group developed a technique for the endoscopic sphenopalatine ganglion block that was able to ameliorate the symptoms in 55% of drug-resistant chronic CH patients. This paper is intended as an update on the technique as well as a comparison in effectiveness to our prior approach.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Department, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pipolo
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bussone
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lozza
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Felisati
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001340:Autonomic Nerve Block / Q000379:methods*; D003027:Cluster Headache / Q000628:therapy*; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D005726:Ganglia, Parasympathetic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome