Two US-guided Techniques for Greater Occipital Nerve Blocks
CompletedNot applicableNCT02031822
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Brief summary (from the registry)
Headache is one of the most common reasons for patients to access healthcare. Greater occipital nerve (GON) block with local anesthetic and steroid has been described for the management of primary headache refractory to conventional treatment. Two ultrasound (US)-guided techniques for greater occipital nerve (GON) block have been described for the management of refractory headache syndromes: a proximal technique performed at the level of the second cervical vertebra and a distal technique performed at the level of the superior nuchal line. Our airm is to compare the accuracy, efficacy and safety of these two techniques in patients with refractory headaches.
Study details
- Official title
- Evaluation of Two Ultrasound-guided Techniques for Greater Occipital Nerve Injections of Local Anesthetic and Steroid for Treatment of Primary Headaches
- Conditions
- Primary Headache
- Interventions
- Procedure: US-guided Greater Occipital Nerve Injection
- Sponsor
- University Health Network, Toronto
- Start date
- 2014-06
- Primary completion
- 2017-09
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Canada
- Total sites listed
- 2
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Features suggestive of occipital neuralgia: pain that begins in the upper neck and back of the head with radiation forward toward the eye and has an aching or burning character. 2. Diagnosis of refractory primary headache, any type 3. Baseline NRS headache score of \> 4 refractory to conventional oral analgesic therapy (anti-inflammatory drugs, migraine prophylaxis and treatment drugs, opioids). Exclusion Criteria: 1. Ongoing litigation issues related to the patient's pain 2. Pregnancy 3. Allergy to steroids or local anesthetics 4. Multiple serious comorbidities 5. Age \< 18 or age ≥ 80 years 6. GON injection within last 3 months at time of entry into the trial
Canadian sites (2)
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02031822