SPG Nerve blocks in hospital emergency departments
This was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which patients were divided into two groups.
The first group received active treatment, bupivacaine, which is local anaesthetic. The second group received a placebo in the form of saline. This was administered by injection into the Sphenopalatine Ganglion, or SPG. The SPG is a ganglion of nerves situated below and behind each eye.
There were significantly more patients that had reduced headache pain by 15minutes, in the treatment group, than in the placebo group. After 24 hours significantly more patients in the treatment group were headache free and had fewer side effects than the placebo group.
The conclusion is that SPG nerve blocks are effective for headache treatment. For this study, the SPG block was administered with the Tx360 device. Neither the author nor MRI have any conflicts of financial interest with this device.
