REVIEW ARTICLE Open Access
Sphenopalatine ganglion: block,radiofrequency ablation andneurostimulation - a systematic reviewKwo Wei David Ho1*, Rene Przkora2 and Sanjeev Kumar2
Abstract
Background: Sphenopalatine ganglion is the largest collection of neurons in the calvarium outside of the brain. Overthe past century, it has been a target for interventional treatment of head and facial pain due to its ease of access. Block,radiofrequency ablation, and neurostimulation have all been applied to treat a myriad of painful syndromes. Despite theroutine use of these interventions, the literature supporting their use has not been systematically summarized.This systematic review aims to collect and summarize the level of evidence supporting the use of sphenopalatine ganglionblock, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimulation.
Methods: Medline, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases werereviewed for studies on sphenopalatine ganglion block, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimulation. Studies includedin this review were compiled and analyzed for their treated medical conditions, study design, outcomes and proceduraldetails. Studies were graded using Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine for level of evidence. Based on the levelof evidence, grades of recommendations are provided for each intervention and its associated medical conditions.
Results: Eighty-three publications were included in this review, of which 60 were studies on sphenopalatine ganglionblock, 15 were on radiofrequency ablation, and 8 were on neurostimulation. Of all the studies, 23 have evidence levelabove case series. Of the 23 studies, 19 were on sphenopalatine ganglion block, 1 study on radiofrequency ablation,and 3 studies on neurostimulation. The rest of the available literature was case reports and case series. The strongestevidence lies in using sphenopalatine ganglion block, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimulation for cluster headache.Sphenopalatine ganglion block also has evidence in treating trigeminal neuralgia, migraines, reducing the needs of analgesicsafter endoscopic sinus surgery and reducing pain associated with nasal packing removal after nasal operations.
Conclusions: Overall, sphenopalatine ganglion is a promising target for treating cluster headache using blocks, radiofrequencyablation and neurostimulation. Sphenopalatine ganglion block also has some evidence supporting its use in a few otherconditions. However, most of the controlled studies were small and without replications. Further controlled studies arewarranted to replicate and expand on these previous findings.
Keywords: Sphenopalatine ganglion, Block, Radiofrequency ablation, Neurostimulation, Nerve stimulation,Neuromodulation
* Correspondence: [email protected] of Neurology, University of Florida, PO Box 100236,1149 NewellDrive, Room L3-100, Gainesville, FL 32611, USAFull list of author information is available at the end of the article
The Journal of Headache and Pain
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Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 DOI 10.1186/s10194-017-0826-y
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ReviewThe sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is also known as pter-ygopalatine ganglion, nasal ganglion or Meckel’s ganglion.It is the largest and most superior ganglion of sensory,sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. It hasthe largest collection of neurons in the calvarium outsideof the brain. It is also the only ganglion having access tothe outside environment through the nasal mucosa. SPGgives rise to greater and lesser palatine nerves, nasopala-tine nerve, superior, inferior and posterior lateral nasalbranches, as well as the pharyngeal branch of the maxil-lary nerve. There are also orbital branches reaching thelacrimal gland.Because of its proximity to multiple important neuro-
anatomic structures in pain perception, SPG has beenpostulated to be involved in facial pain and headachesfor over a century. For headache, SPG is thought to playa central role in the generation of trigeminal autonomiccephalalgia (TAC). TAC is a broad term that encom-passes cluster headache, paroxysmal hemicrania, andshort-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attackwith conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT). It istypically distributed in the trigeminal distribution withipsilateral cranial autonomic features. TAC is character-ized by parasympathetic (lacrimation, rhinorrhea, nasalcongestion and edema) activation and sympathetic dys-function (ptosis and miosis). These clinical features canbe explained by the activation of the sympathetic andparasympathetic pathways within SPG [1]. The disrup-tion of this pathway by SPG blockade is thought to becentral to relieving the headache produced by TAC. Forface and neck neuralgias, connections of SPG with facialnerve, lesser occipital nerve and cutaneous cervicalnerves are thought to be the mechanism [1]. Irritation ofthe SPG can also cause orbital, periorbital and mandibu-lar symptoms through its connection with the ciliaryand otic ganglions and reflex otalgia by its connectionwith the tympanic plexus. Connections of SPG with thevagus nerve may produce visceral symptoms in dysfunc-tional states [1]. SPG may also play an important role invasodilation to protect the brain against ischemia fromstroke or migraine with aura. This mechanism is thoughtto be through the postganglionic parasympathetic fibers,which are connected to the vascular beds of the cerebralhemisphere [2]. Because the upper cervical roots areconnected to the superior cervical ganglion through thesympathetic trunk, which is connected to the deep pe-trosal nerve then to the SPG, SPG blockade is thoughtto be able to relieve pain from the head, face, neck andupper back [1]. This is the rationale for using SPG blockin treating any head, face, neck pain refractory to con-ventional treatment. Through the inhibition of the sym-pathetic trunk, SPG block was also thought to be usefulin treating generalized muscle pain including
fibromyalgia and low back pain [3]. For postdural punc-ture headache, the pain mechanism is thought to be sec-ondary to cerebrospinal fluid leak that exceeds theproduction rate, causing traction on the meninges andparasympathetic mediated reflex vasodilatation of themeningeal vessels. SPG blockade is thought to workthrough blocking the parasympathetic flow to the cere-bral vasculature, allowing the cerebral vessels to returnto normal diameter, thus relieving the headache [4].Although the mechanism by which pain is produced
from SPG is not well-characterized, SPG has been thetreatment target ranging from cluster headache to lowback pain. Three main types of interventions are cur-rently available: chemical nerve block/lysis, radiofre-quency ablation and neurostimulation. Some of theseinterventions are commonly performed in interventionalpain clinics for treatment of headache resistant to con-servative measures. Despite their use, the level of evi-dence for using SPG interventions varies widely across amyriad of conditions.In this systematic review, we sought to systematically
collect the evidence supporting the use of these SPGinterventions in treating various painful conditions. Wealso summarized the level of evidence for each conditionand intervention.
MethodsProtocolThis systematic review applies the guidelines issued inthe latest Preferred Reporting Items for SystematicReviews and Meta-Analysis (Additional file 1: PRISMA).
Information sourcesThe electronic databases of PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.-nih.gov/pubmed/), Cochrane Central Register of ControlledTrials (CENTRAL, www.cochranelibrary.com), GoogleScholar (https://scholar.google.com/) were searched to iden-tify relevant articles. Additionally, references within eligiblepapers were screened for additional articles.
Literature search strategyThe search was conducted in May 2017. The search strat-egy was based on the Population, Intervention, Compara-tor, Outcome (PICO) framework and was conducted tofind studies on sphenopalatine ganglion block, radiofre-quency ablation and neurostimulation. Population (P) wasdefined as patients suffering from any medical condition;intervention (I) was limited to sphenopalatine ganglionblock, sphenopalatine radiofrequency ablation, and sphe-nopalatine ganglion neurostimulation; patients receivinginterventions were compared (C) to preintervention sta-tus, patients without treatment or healthy controls; theoutcome (O) needed to either qualitatively or quantita-tively measure the reduction in disease severity with
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 2 of 27
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhttp://www.cochranelibrary.comhttps://scholar.google.com/
intervention. The complete entered search strategy inPubMed was: “(sphenopalatine) AND ganglion) ANDblock” for sphenopalatine ganglion block; “(sphenopala-tine) AND ganglion) AND radiofrequency” for radiofre-quency ablation; and (sphenopalatine AND ganglion ANDneurostimulation) OR (sphenopalatine AND ganglionAND neuromodulation).
Eligibility criteria and study selectionTo be included in this review, studies had to meet thefollowing criteria: 1. The study sample was human. 2.Interventions must be SPG block, SPG radiofrequencyablation or SPG neurostimulation. 3. Articles had to bewritten in English. 4. Full-Text articles had to be avail-able. 5. Conference abstracts and reviews were excluded.
Data items and collectionThe following items were compiled in the evidence tablesfor SPG block (Table 2-12): first author, year of publica-tion, medical condition treated, approach, imaging modal-ity, medication used for the procedure, number of cases,study design and outcome. For radiofrequency ablation,the following additional items were collected: radiofre-quency ablation temperature, type of radiofrequency abla-tion, parameter used and how to identify the correctposition of the radiofrequency cannula/probe. For neuro-stimulation, the following additional items were collected:type of stimulator, type of stimulation and how to identifythe correct position.
Risk of bias assessmentThe quality of randomized-controlled studies wasassessed using the 7-item criteria in Review ManagerSoftware version 5.35 provided by the Cochrane Collab-oration [5]. The 7-item criteria contained: (1) randomsequence generation; (2) allocation concealment; (3)blinding of participants and personnel; (4) blinding ofoutcome assessment; (5) incomplete outcome data; (6)selective reporting and (7) other bias.
Analysis of evidence and recommendationsLevel of evidence was graded based on Oxford Center forEvidence-based Medicine (1a: Systematic review ofrandomized-controlled trials. 1b: Individual randomized-controlled trials with narrow confidence interval. 2a: Sys-tematic review of homogenous cohort studies. 2b: Individ-ual cohort studies and low quality randomized-controlledtrial. 3a: Systematic review of homogenous case-controlstudies. 3b: Individual case-control study. 4. Case seriesand poor-quality cohort and case-control studies. 5.Expert opinion. Grade of recommendation: A: Consistentlevel 1 studies. B: Consistent level 2 or 3 studies or extrap-olations from level 1 studies. C: Level 4 studies or extrapo-lations from level 2 or 3 studies. D: Level 5 evidence or
troublingly inconsistent or inconclusive studies of anylevel. Risk of bias in individual studies and across studieswere not systematically assessed as most studies includedin this review were case reports and case series.
ResultsOverall summaryThe result of the search process is provided in Fig. 1. 60 arti-cles were included for SPG block, 15 articles for SPG radio-frequency ablation, and 8 articles for SPG neurostimulation.The evidence levels and grades of recommendation for
SPG block, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimula-tion are summarized in Table 1. Any study with evidencelevel above case series is included in Table 2. Risk of biasof randomized-controlled studies is summarized in Fig. 2.Most randomized-controlled studies included in thisreview have adequate randomization and blinding ofparticipants and personnel.
Fig. 1 Overview of the systematic review process
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 3 of 27
In the following sections, we will summarize the levelof evidence and grades of recommendations by the typeof SPG interventions and associated medical conditions.
Sphenopalatine ganglion blockSixty articles were included for sphenopalatine ganglionblock. Of the 60 studies, 11 were small randomized-
controlled studies, and 1 was retrospective case-control study. The rest of the literature included casereports and case series. The type of blocking agentvaried across studies, but they could be broadly putinto three categories: cocaine, voltage-gated sodiumchannel blocker (local anesthetics), and a combinationof voltage-gated sodium channel blocker and steroids.
Table 1 Summary of evidence level and grade of recommendation for SPG block, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimulation
Medical condition Application/ Medicationused in controlledstudies
Number ofcontrolledstudies
Highest levelof evidence
Grade ofrecommendation
SPG block
Cluster headache Cotton swab/cocaineor lidocaine
1 2b B
Second-division trigeminal neuralgia Lidocaine spray 1 2b B
Reducing the needs of analgesicsafter endoscopic sinus surgery
Needle injection,transnasal and palatalapproach/lidocaine,bupivacaine, levobupivacaine,tetracaine
6 1b B
Reducing the pain associatedwith nasal packing removalafter nasal operation
Needle injection,infrazygomaticapproach/lidocaine
1 3b B
Migraine Tx360 device/ bupivicane 1 2b B
Postdural puncture headache,sphenopalatine maxillary neuralgia,facial neuralgia, sympathetic neuralgia,post-traumatic atypical facial pain,atypical odontalgia, pain from midlinegranuloma, herpetic keratitis, hemifacialheadache,paroxysmal hemicrania, nasalpain, hemicrania continua, trigeminalneuropathy, cancer pain, seizuresassociated nasal pathology, arthriticpain and muscle spasm, intercostalneuritis, persistent hiccups, ureteralcolic, dysmenorrhea, peripheral painfulvascular spasm, complex regional painsyndrome and hypertension
Various protocols 0 4 C
Myofascial pain Cotton-tipped applicator,nasal spray/lidocaine
2 2b Not recommended
SPG radiofrequency ablation
Cluster headache Infrazygomatic approach/80 °C, 60s ×2
0 (1 cohort study) 2b B
Sluder’s neuralgia, posttraumaticheadache, chronic head and face pain,atypical trigeminal neuralgia, atypicalfacial pain, chronic facial pain secondaryto cavernous sinus meningioma,trigeminal neuralgia, SPG neuralgiadue to herpes zoster
Various protocols 0 4 C
SPG neurostimulation
Cluster headache Customized to each patient,mean frequency120.4 ± 15.5 Hz,pulse width 389.7 ± 75.4 μs,intensity 1.6 ± 0.8 mA
1 1b B
Idiopathic facial pain, migraine Various protocols 0 4 C
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Table 2 Studies with evidence level above case series in SPG block, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimulationEvidence level above case series
Author Year Medicalproblems
Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Study design Outcome
SPG Block
Bergeret al. [32]
1986 Low back pain Cotton tipapplicatorand transnasalneedle
None Cocaine orlidocaine
7 cases withcocaine, 7 caseswith lidocaine,7 controls
Case-control No statisticalsignificancebetweencases andcontrols
Slade et al.[51]
1986 Tear secretionwith topicalanesthesia
Needle injection,through thegreater palatineforamen
None 2% lidocaine 10 Case-control(using self ascontrol)
Tear secretionsignificantlyreducedby 73%(p < 0.001)
Hennebergeret al. [36]
1988 Nicotineaddiction
Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None Bupivacaine,cocaine orsaline
6 with bupivacaine,5 with cocaine,6 with saline
Double-blindplacebo-controlled
Significantlyfewer symptomsof discomfort forpatients in theanesthetictreatmentgroupsthan placebogroup
Silvermanet al. [37]
1993 Experimentallyinduced pain(submaximaleffort tourniquettest)
Cotton tippedapplicator
None 20% lidocaineand epinephrine
16 healthyvolunteers
Double-blind,cross-over study
No significantdifferencebetweenexperimentaland placebogroup.
Scudds et al.[3]
1995 Chronic musclepain syndrome
Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None 4% lidocaine 42 withfibromyalgia,19 with myofascialpain syndrome
Double-blindrandomizedcontrolled
No statisticalsignificancebetween4% lidocaineand placebo
Janzen et al.[30]
1997 Myofascial painsyndrome andfibromyalgia
Nasal spray None 4% lidocaine 42 withfibromyalgia,19 with myofascialpain syndrome
Double-blind,placebo-controlled
No statisticalsignificancebetween 4%lidocaine andplacebo
Ferranteet al. [31]
1998 Myofascial painsyndrome of thehead, neck andshoulders
NA None 4% lidocaine 13 cases,7 controls
Double-blind,placebo-controlled,crossover design
No statisticalsignificance
Costa et al.[6]
2000 Clusterheadache(nitroglycerininduced)
Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None 10% cocaine or10% lidocaine
6 episodic CH,9 chronic CH
Double-blind,placebo-controlled,
All patientswith inducedpain respondedto cocaine after31.3 min andlidocaine after37 min
Hwang et al.[23]
2003 Removal ofnasal packingafter nasaloperation
Needle injectioninto the greaterpalatine canal
None 1% lidocaine 11 Case-control Injectionside hadsignificantlylower painthan thecontrol side
Kanai et al.[11]
2006 Second divisiontrigeminalneuralgia
Nasal spray None Lidocaine 25 Randomizedcontrol
Significantlydecreased painwith intranasallidocaine spray
Ahmed et al.[18]
2007 Sinonasalsurgeryintraoperativeisofluoraneconsumption,hypotensiveagents used,postoperativepain
Bilateral SPG block,injected betweenthe middle andinferior turbinates
None 0.5% lidocaineand epinephrine.
15 cases, 15controls
Randomized-controlled
Significantlyreducedintraoperativeisofluoraneconsumptionand esmololuse, postoperativetramadol use andpostoperative pain.
Ali et al. [20] 2010 Endoscopictrans-nasalresection ofpituitaryadenoma,anesthetic,vasodilatorand analgesicsparing effect
Bilateral SPG block,injected betweenthe middle andinferior turbinates
None 1.5% lidocaineand epinephrine
15 cases and15 controls
Randomized-controlled
Significantlyreduced insevofluraneand nitroglycerineconsumption,emergence time,postoperativepain and needof meperidineanalgesia.
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 5 of 27
Table 2 Studies with evidence level above case series in SPG block, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimulation (Continued)Evidence level above case series
Author Year Medicalproblems
Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Study design Outcome
Cho et al.[17]
2011 Endoscopicsinus surgerypostoperativeanalgesiaefficacy
Transoral, throughthe greaterpalatine foramen
None 0.25%bupivacainewithepinephrine
60 Double-blindrandomized,placebo-controlled
Pain notsignificantlydifferent fromcontrol
Kesimci et al.[22]
2012 Endoscopicsinus surgerypostoperativeanalgesiaefficacy
Bilateral SPG block,injected betweenthe middle and inferior turbinates
None 0.5%bupivacaineor 0.5%levobupivacaine
45 Double-blindrandomized,placebo-controlled
Postoperativepain significantlyreduced, alsosignificantlyfew patientsrequiringadditionalanalgesicsin thepostoperative24 h.
Demariaet al. [21]
2012 Endoscopicsinus surgerypostoperativeanalgesiaefficacy
Bilateral SPG block,palatal approach
None 2% lidocaineand 1%tetracaine
70 Double-blindrandomized,placebo-controlled
Patients weredischargedsooner thanthe controlgroup. Theblock groupalso requiredless totalfentanyl inthe recoveryroom.
Cady et al.[15]
2015 Chronicmigraine
Tx360 None 0.5%bupivacaine
38 Double blind,placebo control
Significantlydecreasedheadacheat 24 h
Cady et al.[16]
2015 Chronicmigraine
Repetitive block(twice a week)with Tx360
None 0.5%bupivacaine
38 Double blind,placebo control
No statisticaldifference at1 month and6 monthsbetweentreatmentand controlgroups.
Schafferet al. [34]
2015 Acute anterioror globalheadache
Tx360 device None 0.5%bupivacaine
93 Randomizedplacebo-controlled
No statisticallysignificantdifference
Al-Qudahet al. [19]
2015 Endoscopicsinus surgerypostoperativeanalgesiaefficacy
Applied tothe SPGregion
None 2% lidocaineandepinephrine
60 (30 cases,30 controls)
Double-blind,placebocontrolled
Significantpain reductionin the SPGblock group
Narouzeet al. [38]
2009 Chronic clusterheadache
Infrazygomaticapproach
Fluoroscopy NA 15 Prospectivecohort
Mean attackintensity,mean attackfrequency,pain disabilityindex significantreduced at 1year follow-up(P < 0.0005,P < 0.0003,P < 0.002,respectively)
SPG Neurostimulation
Schoenenet al. [41]
2013 Clusterheadache
ATI SPGstimulatorpositioned on thelateral-posteriormaxilla medialto the zygoma.Customized,mean frequency120.4 Hz, meanpulse width 389.7us, mean intensity1.6 mA
CT – 28 cases,with 3randomizedsettings.
Randomizedcontrolled
Pain reliefachieved in67.1% offull stimulation-treated attackscompared to7.4% of sham-treated attacks.P < 0.0001
Jurgens et al. [42] 2016 Cluster headache Neurostimulator,described inSchoenenet al. [41]
CT – 33 cases Cohort study.Long-termfollow-upfrom [41]
61% ofpatientswere eitheracuteresponder(>50% relief
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 6 of 27
Voltage-gated sodium channel blocker is the mostcommonly used agent.
Cluster headacheThere were nine articles on chronic cluster headachescollected through our literature search (see Table 3).One was a small double-blind placebo-controlled study(level 2b), six were case series and two were case reports(level 4, see Table 3). Costa et al. [6] reported a double-blind, placebo-controlled study using 15 cases of epi-sodic and chronic cluster headaches. Cluster headachewas induced with nitroglycerin, and SPG was treatedwith 10% solution of cocaine hydrochloride (1 ml, meanamount of application of 40-50 mg), 10% lidocaine(1 ml) or saline using a cotton swab previouslyimmersed in these solutions. The cotton swab wasplaced in the region corresponding to the sphenopala-tine fossa under anterior rhinoscopy. This was done inboth the symptomatic and the non-symptomatic sidesfor 5 min. Patients treated with cocaine and lidocaine re-ported relief in 31.3 min in the cocaine group and37 min for lidocaine group, compared to 59.3 min in thesaline group. The side effect was mainly the unpleasanttaste of lidocaine. This study was limited by its smallnumber of participants, the acutely induced clusterheadache from nitroglycerin, and its measure on onlyshort-term outcome.Other case reports/series using cocaine and local anes-
thetics as blocking agents generally reported good im-mediate outcomes for aborting acute cluster headache.One study using cocaine reported 10 out of 11 patientsreceiving 50-100% relief from spontaneous cluster head-ache [7], another study using lidocaine reported four outof five patients receiving relief from nitrate-inducedcluster headache [8]. Because of the short-term relieffrom cocaine and lidocaine, steroid has been tried to
prolong the relief provided by SPG block. In one caseseries, combination of triamcinolone, bupivacaine, mepi-vacaine and epinephrine helped improve severity andfrequency of cluster headaches in 11 out of 21 patients[9]. The same cocktail helped 55% of the 15 treated pa-tients in another case series [10].In summary, SPG block has moderate evidence in
treating cluster headache. The overall grade of recom-mendation is B for SPG block on cluster headache. Thestrongest evidence lies in aborting nitroglycerin-inducedcluster headache using local application of cocaine orlidocaine with cotton swab through the transnasal ap-proach. The side effect was mainly the unpleasant tasteof lidocaine. Addition of steroid may provide longer re-lief, but the evidence remains weak (Grade Crecommendation).
Trigeminal neuralgiaThere were four articles on SPG block for trigeminalneuralgia through our literature search. One was arandomized-controlled study (level 2b), two were caseseries and one case report (level 4, see Table 4). Kanai etal. performed a randomized-controlled study with 25participants with refractory second-division trigeminalneuralgia [11]. In this study, twenty-five patients withsecond-division trigeminal neuralgia were randomized toreceive two sprays (0.2 ml) of either lidocaine 8% or sa-line placebo in the affected nostril using a metered-dosespray. The paroxysmal pain triggered by touching ormoving face was assessed. Intranasal lidocaine 8% spraysignificantly decreased the paroxysmal pain for an aver-age of 4.3 h. The side effects were limited to local irrita-tion with burning, stinging or numbness of the nose andeye, and bitter taste and numbness of the throat. Onecase series [12] and one case report [13] reported imme-diate pain relief from nerve blocks with lidocaine and
Table 2 Studies with evidence level above case series in SPG block, radiofrequency ablation and neurostimulation (Continued)Evidence level above case series
Author Year Medicalproblems
Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Study design Outcome
frommoderateor greaterpain) or frequencyresponder(>50% inattackfrequency)at 24 months
Barloese et al. [43] 2016 Cluster headache Neurostimulator,described inSchoenenet al. [41]
CT – 33 cases Cohort study.Long-termfollow-upfrom [41]
30%experiencedat least 1episode ofcompleteattackremission(attack-freeperiodexceeding1 month)
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 7 of 27
bupivacaine. One case series used a combination ofdexamethasone and ropivacaine with the Tx360 applica-tor, which resulted in short-term pain relief [14]. Mul-tiple blocks over time seemed to provide longer painrelief but it was restricted to isolated cases.In summary, the overall grade of recommendation is B for
SPG block on trigeminal neuralgia. The strongest evidencelies in treating with 8% lidocaine nasal spray in the affectednostril. The analgesia is effective but temporary (4.3 h). It iswell-tolerated with side effects limited to local irritations.Addition of steroid and use of the Tx360 applicator may beuseful but there has not been a controlled study.
MigraineThere was one small double-blind, placebo-controlledstudy and one long-term follow-up of the same study(level 2b), two case series and one case report (level 4,see Table 5). Cady et al. [15] reported a randomized-controlled study using the Tx360 device and bupivacaineto acutely treat chronic migraines with repetitive SPGblockade. 38 subjects with chronic migraines wereincluded in the final analysis. Participants received aseries of 12 SPG blocks with either 0.3 cm3 of 0.5% bupi-vacaine or saline delivered with the Tx360® through eachnostril, over a 6-week period (2 SPG blocks/week). SPGblock was found to be effective in reducing the severityof migraines up to 24 h. However, repetitive blocks didnot provide any statistically significant relief at 1-monthor 6-month follow-ups [16]. The most common sideeffects were mouth numbness, lacrimation, and badtaste, but there was no statistical difference infrequency of side effects between the bupivacaine andsaline groups.Given the positive randomized-controlled study, grade
of recommendation is B for short term treatment ofchronic migraines using 0.5% bupivacaine with theTx360 device®. It should be noted that the effect is onlypresent for 24 h. and it is not suitable for patients seek-ing relief greater than 24 h.
Postoperative pain of the head and faceThere were six randomized-controlled studies, one case-control study and one case series falling under this cat-egory (Table 6).Six randomized-controlled studies examined the effi-
cacy of SPG blockade in reducing the needs of analgesicsafter endoscopic sinus surgery (level 2b). One study byCho et al. [17] did not show significant difference be-tween SPG block and placebo, but five additionalrandomized-controlled studies showed significant reduc-tion in the need of post-operative analgesics in the grouptreated with SPG block [18–22]. The five positive studiesused 0.5% lidocaine with epinephrine [18], 1.5% lido-caine with epinephrine [22], 0.5% bupivacaine or 0.5%levobupivacaine [22], 2% lidocaine and 1% tetracaine[21]. The SPG block was applied using injections, bilat-erally through the transnasal or palatal approach. Therewas no difference in complications between the treat-ment and placebo group.Hwang et al. [23] reported a case-control study to
assess the efficacy of SPG block in reducing the painassociated with nasal packing removal after nasal oper-ation (level 3b). 1% lidocaine was injected into thegreater palatine canal ipsilaterally using infrazygomaticapproach. Participants reported significantly lower painon the side of the nose that received SPG block com-pared to the control side.
Fig. 2 Risk of bias summary of randomized-controlled studies
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Robiony et al. [24] reported one case series (level 4) onthe effectiveness of combined maxillary transcutaneousnerve block and SPG block in reducing postoperativepain for surgical correction of skeletal transverse dis-crepancy of the maxilla.Given five positive double-blind placebo-controlled
studies and one negative study, the grade of recom-mendation is B for SPG block in improving postoper-ative analgesia efficacy after endoscopic sinus surgery.
Each study blocked SPG with injection of differentlocal anesthetics using different approaches. In 5studies, SPG block was consistently found to be ef-fective in reducing the need of analgesics after endo-scopic sinus surgery. A combination with maxillarytranscutaneous nerve block may be also helpful butfurther systematic study is necessary to evaluate itsefficacy. Grade of recommendation is also B for redu-cing pain associated with nasal packing removal after
Table 3 Studies of SPG block for cluster headache
Cluster headache
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Studydesign
Outcome
Devoghelet al. [52]
1981 Cluster headache Needle injection.Supra-zygomaticapproach
None Pure alcohol 120 Caseseries
85.8% hadcomplete relief
Barre et al.[7]
1982 Cluster headache Cotton swab.Applied tosphenopalatineforamen.Self-applicationif responded totreatment
None 50 mg of cocaineflakes, then 10%and 5% cocainesolution
11 Caseseries
10 out of 11 had50-100% abortionrate in spontaneousheadache
Kittrelleet al. [8]
1985 Cluster headache Lidocaine directlydropped intothe nostrils
None 4% lidocaine 5 Caseseries
4 of 5 patientsobtained reliefof nitrate-inducedcluster headaches
Costa et al.[6]
2000 Cluster headache(nitroglycerininduced)
Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None 10% cocaine or10% lidocaine
6 episodic CH,9 chronic CH
Double-blind,placebo-controlled,
All patients withinduced painresponded tococaine after31.3 min andlidocaine after37 min
Felisati et al.[9]
2006 Chronic clusterheadache
Endoscopicneedle injectionthat approachesthe pterygopalatinefossa by way of thelateral nasal wall
None Triamcinoloneacetonide, 1%bupivacaineand 2%mepivacainewith adrenaline
21 Caseseries
11 out of 21 haveimprovement insymptoms
Yang et al.[53]
2006 Chronic clusterheadache
Transnasal needle Fluoroscopy 0.2% Ropivacaineand triamcinolone
1 Casereport
60% pain relief
Pipolo et al.[10]
2010 Drug-resistantchronic clusterheadache
Needle into theinferior portionof the sphenopalatineforamen (transnasalendoscopictechnique-prasanna 1993
None 40 mgtriamcinoloneacetonide,1% bupivacaine,2% mepivacainewith adrenaline
15 Case series 55% experiencecomplete subsidenceof CH symptoms
Zarembinskiet al. [54]
2014 Drug-resistantchronic clusterheadache,with Jacob’sdisease
Sphenopalatineganglion blockvia mandibularnotch, thenradiofrequencyoblation.
Fluoroscopy,CT
0.25%bupivacaine and10 mg/mldexamethasone
1 Case report Pain significantlyimproved.
Kastler et al.[55]
2014 Cluster headache(14), persistentidiopathic facialpain (10), andother types offacial pain (18)
Infrazygomaticapproach
CT Absolute alcohol 14 Caseseries
76.5% of patientshave 50% painrelief at 1 month
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 9 of 27
nasal surgery, using lidocaine injection through theinfrazygomatic approach.
Head and neck cancer painThree case reports and series were found (level 4 evi-dence, Table 7). One study was SPG block and two onSPG neurolysis with phenol. The largest case series wasby Varghese et al. [25], who reported 22 cases of suc-cessful treatment with 6% phenol used via nasal endos-copy, as a neurolytic sphenopalatine ganglion block, forpain caused by advanced head and neck cancer. Theoverall grade of recommendation is C for any of thesepainful conditions.
Postherpetic neuralgiaA total of three case reports and series were foundthrough our search process (level 4 evidence, Table 8).All three articles reported successful treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia with SPG block using local anes-thetics. One study reported successful treatment ofpostherpetic neuralgia involving the ophthalmic division
of the trigeminal nerve, by SPG block under directvisualization through nasal endoscopy [26]. Another art-icle reported success in treating sinus arrest in posther-petic neuralgia by SPG block through trans-nasalapproach utilizing cotton tipped applicators [27], andone study reported successful treatment of herpes zosterwithin a heterogeneous case series [28]. The overallgrade of recommendation is C.
Musculoskeletal painThere were two negative randomized-controlled studyon head, neck and shoulder myofascial pain. There werealso a small case-control study on low back pain, a smallrandomized-controlled study on chronic muscle painsyndrome and two large case series in our literaturesearch (Table 9).Successful treatment of lumbosacral pain with SPG
block was initially reported in two large case series inthe 1940s [28, 29]. However, further randomized-controlled studies dismissed these findings. Scudds et al.[3] reported a randomized-controlled study applying
Table 5 Studies of SPG block for migraine
Migraine
Author Year Medicalproblems
Approach Imaging Medication Number ofcases
Study design Outcome
Amsteret al. [28]
1948 Migraine Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None Nupercaine,pontocaine,monocaine
4 Case series Relief of pain and spasm in90% of cases
Maizelset al. [56]
1999 Migrainewith aura
Self-administeredintranasal 4%lidocaine
None 4% lidocaine 1 Case report Most headaches were successfullyaborted for 15 months
Yarnitskyet al. [57]
2003 Migraine Cotton tipapplicator
None 2% lidocaine 32 Case series Significant reduction in pain scoreduring migraine
Cadyet al. [15]
2015 Chronicmigraine
Tx360 None 0.5% bupivacaine 38 Double blind,placebo control
Significantly decreased headacheat 24 h
Cadyet al. [16]
2015 Chronicmigraine
Tx360 None 0.5% bupivacaine 38 Double blind,placebo control
No statistical difference at 1 monthand 6 months between treatmentand control groups.
Table 4 Studies of SPG block for trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Number of cases Study design Outcome
Petersonet al. [12]
1995 Trigeminal neuralgia Cotton tipapplicator
None 4% lidocaine 2 Case series Pain free
Manahanet al. [13]
1996 Trigeminal neuralgia NA None Bupivacaine 1 Case report Pain free
Kanaiet al. [11]
2006 Second divisiontrigeminal neuralgia
Nasal spray None Lidocaine 25 Randomizedcontrol
Significantly decreasedpain with intranasallidocaine spray
Candidoet al. [14]
2013 Trigeminal neuralgia,chronic migraineheadache,post-herpeticneuralgia
Tx360 Nasalapplicator,transnasal
None 0.5% ropivacaineand 2 mgdexamethasone
3 Case series Satisfactory
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 10 of 27
SPG block (cotton-tipped pledgelets with 4% lidocaine)to 42 participants with fibromyalgia and 19 participantswith myofascial pain syndrome. He reported no statis-tical difference between treatment and placebo group inpain intensity, headache frequency, sensitivity to pressure,
anxiety, depression, and sleep quality. Janzen et al. [30]reported a similar randomized-controlled study by apply-ing SPG block with lidocaine spray. Forty-two participantswith fibromyalgia and 19 with myofascial pain syndromewere included in his study. He again found not difference
Table 6 Studies of SPG blocks for operative pain of the head and face
Operative Pain of the head and neck
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Study design Outcome
Robionyet al. [24]
1998 Skeletal transversediscrepancy of themaxilla
Transcutaneous truncalanesthesia of the maxillarynerve in association withtransmucosal anesthesiaof the sphenopalatineganglion
None Prilocainecarbocainecream
12 Case series Total anesthesiaof the maxillaryarea facilitatedthe operationsand appreciablyreduced amountof postoperativepain
Hwanget al. [23]
2003 Removal of nasalpacking after nasaloperation
Needle injection into thegreater palatine canal
None 1% lidocaine 11 Case-control Injection sidehad significantlylower pain thanthe control side
Ahmedet al. [18]
2007 Endoscopic sinonasalsurgery intraoperativeisofluorane consumption,hypotensive agents used,postoperative pain
Bilateral SPG block,injected between themiddle and inferiorturbinates
None 0.5% lidocaineand epinephrine.
15 cases,15 controls
Randomized-controlled
Significantlyreducedintraoperativeisofluoraneconsumptionand esmololuse, postoperativetramadol useand postoperativepain.
Ali et al. [20] 2010 Endoscopic trans-nasalresection of pituitaryadenoma, anesthetic,vasodilator and analgesicsparing effect
Bilateral SPG block,injected betweenthe middle andinferior turbinates
None 1.5% lidocaineand epinephrine
15 casesand15 controls
Randomized-controlled
Significantlyreduced insevoflurane andnitroglycerineconsumption,emergence time,postoperativepain and needof meperidineanalgesia.
Kesimciet al. [22]
2012 Endoscopic sinus surgerypostoperative analgesiaefficacy
Bilateral SPG block,injected betweenthe middle andinferior turbinates
None 0.5%bupivacaineor 0.5%levobupivacaine
45 Double-blindrandomized,placebo-controlled
Postoperativepain significantlyreduced, alsosignificantly fewpatients requiringadditionalanalgesics in thepostoperative24 h.
Demariaet al. [21]
2012 Endoscopic sinus surgerypostoperative analgesiaefficacy
Bilateral SPG block,palatal approach
None 2% lidocaineand 1%tetracaine
70 Double-blindrandomized,placebo-controlled
Patients weredischargedsooner than thecontrol group.The block groupalso required lesstotal fentanyl inthe recoveryroom.
Al-Qudahet al. [19]
2015 Endoscopic sinus surgerypostoperative analgesiaefficacy
Applied to the SPGregion
None 2% lidocaineand epinephrine
60 (30cases, 30controls)
Double-blind,placebocontrolled
Significant painreduction in theSPG block group
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 11 of 27
between the treatment and placebo group. Ferrante et al.[31] reported a randomized-controlled study with 13 casesof head, neck and shoulder myofascial pain and 7 healthycontrols. He also showed no significant effect with SPGblock. On low back pain, Berger et al. [32] reported acase-control study with 21 patients randomized tococaine, lidocaine and saline. He did not find significantdifferences in outcomes. Given the negative randomized-controlled studies, it is not recommended to use SPGblock on musculoskeletal pain.
Postdural puncture headacheThere were two case series and one case report (level 4)reporting successful treatment of postdural punctureheadache (Table 10). No higher-level studies were avail-able. Cohen et al. [33] reported the largest case series of32 cases with postdural puncture headache. In the series,69% of the patients treated with transnasal SPG blockwere saved from epidural blood patch. The overall gradeof recommendation is C for SPG block on postduralpuncture headache.
Other pain syndromes of the head and facePain syndromes involving the head and face not belong-ing to any category mentioned above are summarized inTable 11. There was a negative randomized-controlledstudy using Tx360 device treating acute anterior and
global headache [34]. There were also multiple casereports and series on the effectiveness of SPG in control-ling various types of head and facial pain. Local anes-thetics and steroids have been used for SPG block, whilephenol and alcohol have been used for SPG neurolysis.They have been successfully used in Sluder’s neuralgia,sphenopalatine maxillary neuralgia, facial neuralgia,sympathetic neuralgia, post-traumatic atypical facialpain, atypical odontalgia, pain from midline granuloma,herpetic keratitis, hemifacial headache, paroxysmalhemicrania, nasal pain, hemicrania continua and trigem-inal neuropathy. The largest case series was provided byRodman et al. [35], documenting 147 patients with vari-ous types of nasal pain and headache. He reported that81.3% of the patients had pain relief after receiving SPGblock with a mixture of bupivacaine and triamcinolone.Schaffer et al. [34] reported a randomized placebo-controlled study using Tx360 device to treat acute anter-ior or global headache. A total of 93 participants wererecruited in the study, but the study showed no statis-tical significance between the treatment and controlgroups. Because of the result, we do not recommendSPG block for anterior or global headache. The overallgrade of recommendation is C for other types of headand facial pain, including Sluder’s neuralgia, sphenopala-tine maxillary neuralgia, facial neuralgia, sympatheticneuralgia, post-traumatic atypical facial pain, atypical
Table 7 Studies of SPG block for cancer pain
Head and neck cancer pain
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Number ofcases
Study design Outcome
Prasannaet al. [58]
1993 Pain from carcinoma of thetongue and floor of the mouth
Nasal sinuscope None 0.25%bupivacaine
10 Case series Immediate pain relief
Vargheseet al. [25]
2001 Pain due to advanced headand neck cancer
Endoscopic needleinjection
None 6% phenol 22 Case series 17 out of 22 patientshad significant painrelief
Vargheseel al. [59]
2002 Pain due to advanced headand neck cancer
Transnasal through thesphenopalatine foramen
None 6% phenol 1 Case report Significant pain relief
Table 8 Studies of SPG block on postherpetic neuralgia
Postherpetic neuralgia
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Studydesign
Outcome
Prasannaet al. [26]
1993 Postherpetic neuralgiainvolving the ophthalmicdivision of the trigeminalnerve
Combination of stellateganglion and sphenopalatineganglion block, cottontip applicator
None Lidocaine andbupivacaine
1 Case report Pain free
Saberskiet al. [27]
1999 Sinus arrest inpostherpetic neuralgia
Cotton tipped applicator,transnasal approach
None 20% lidocaine 1 Case report No paroxysmal painor sinus pausesimmediatelyafter block
Amsteret al. [28]
1948 Herpes zoster Cotton tipped applicator,transnasal approach
None Nupercaine,pontocaine,monocaine
3 Case series Relief of pain andspasm in 90% ofcases
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 12 of 27
odontalgia, pain from midline granuloma, herpetic kera-titis, hemifacial headache, paroxysmal hemicrania, nasalpain, hemicrania continua and trigeminal neuropathy.
Other syndromesSPG block has been used for a myriad of other condi-tions not involved in painful syndromes of the head andface. These conditions include seizures associated nasalpathology, arthritic pain and muscle spasm, intercostalneuritis, persistent hiccups, ureteral colic, dysmenorrhea,peripheral painful vascular spasm, complex regional painsyndrome and hypertension (Table 12). Most of thesestudies reported significant improvement, but none ofthem had evidence level above case series. There wasone randomized-controlled study in assessing theefficacy of SPG block in treating nicotine addiction, butthe result was negative [36]. One small double-blindcross-over study examined whether SPG block reduces
experimentally induced pain using submaximal efforttourniquet test, but the SPG block failed to make adifference in pain perception [37].Overall, the grade of recommendation for any of
these syndrome remains at C. SPG block is not rec-ommended for nicotine addiction due to the negativerandomized study.
Summary for SPG blockGrade of recommendation of using SPG block is B forcluster headache, second-division trigeminal neuralgia,migraine, reducing the pain associated with nasal pack-ing removal after nasal operation and for reducing theneeds of analgesics after endoscopic sinus surgery. Outof these conditions, SPG block has the best evidence inreducing the needs of analgesics after endoscopic sinussurgery, as there are six randomized-controlled studies.It should be noted that the recommendation for cluster
Table 9 Studies of SPG block for musculoskeletal pain
Musculoskeletal pain
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Number of cases Study design Outcome
Amsteret al. [28]
1948 Lumbosacral andsacroiliac pain
Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None Nupercaine,pontocaine,monocaine
61 Case series Relief of pain and spasm in90% of cases
Ruskinet al. [29]
1946 Lumbo-sacralspasm
Unknown None Cocaine,novocaineor nupercaine
36 Case series Pain partially or completelyrelieved with SPGB andintramuscular injections ofironyl and calcium ascorbate
Bergeret al. [32]
1986 Low back pain Cotton tipapplicator andtransnasal needle
None Cocaine orlidocaine
7 cases withcocaine, 7 caseswith lidocaine,7 controls
Case-control No statistical significancebetween cases and controls
Scuddset al. [3]
1995 Chronic musclepain syndrome
Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None 4% lidocaine 42 withfibromyalgia,19 with myofascialpain syndrome
Double-blindrandomizedcontrolled
No statistical significancebetween 4% lidocaine andplacebo
Janzenet al. [30]
1997 Myofascial painsyndrome andfibromyalgia
Nasal spray None 4% lidocaine 42 with fibromyalgia,19 with myofascialpain syndrome
Double-blind,placebo-controlled
No statistical significancebetween 4% lidocaine andplacebo
Ferranteet al. [31]
1998 Myofascial painsyndrome of thehead, neck andshoulders
NA None 4% lidocaine 13 cases,7 controls
Double-blind,placebo-controlled,crossoverdesign
No statistical significance
Table 10 Studies of SPG blocks for postdural puncture headache
Postdural puncture headache
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Studydesign
Outcome
Cohen et al. [60] 2014 Postdural punctureheadache
Cotton-tipapplicator
None 5% lidocaine 32 Case series 69% of the patients were savedfrom epidural blood patch
Kent et al. [4] 2015 Postdural punctureheadache
Cotton-tipapplicator
None 2% lidocaine 3 Case series 1 patient had relief, 2 had to getepidural blood patch.
Cardoso et al. [61] 2017 Postdural punctureheadache
Cotton-tipapplicator
None 0.5% Levobupivacaine 1 Case report Symptoms relieved by 5 min.
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 13 of 27
Table 11 Studies of SPG blocks for other pain syndromes of the head and facePain syndromes of the head and face
Author Year Medicalproblems
Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Study design Outcome
Ruskin et al. [62] 1925 SP maxillary neuralgia,SP facial neuralgia,SP sympathetic neuralgia,SPG cell neuralgia
Needle injection. None 20% Cocaine,10% silver nitrate,70% alcohol
7 Case series Improvementsor completerelief
Stechison et al. [63] 1994 Post-traumatic atypicalfacial pain syndrome
Needle injection.Transfacialtranspterygomaxillaryaccess to foramenrotundum SPG andmaxillary nerve
CT First stage: 0.5%bupivacaine,Second stage: 98%ethyl alcohol and0.5% bupivacainein 2:1 ratio
5 Case series 3 had alcoholneurotomyand pain freeat 5, 8 and12 months.2 respondedpoorly to firststage blockadeand did nothave alcoholneurotomy.
Peterson et al. [12] 1995 Atypical odontalgia Cotton tip,self-application
None 4% lidocaine 1 Case report Pain free
Saade et al. [64] 1996 Pain from midlinegranuloma
Self-administeredSPG block
None Lidocaine 1 Case report Significantpain relief
Puig et al. [65] 1998 Sluder’s neuralgia Cotton tipapplicator andtransnasal needle
None 88% phenol 8 Case series 90% decreasein head andface pain for9.5-monthduration
Windsor et al. [66] 2004 Herpetic keratitis Transnasal cottontip applicator
None Tetracaine,adrenalin and10% cocaine]
1 Case report Effect of blocklasts for amonth. Requiresmonths blocks
Obah et al. [67] 2006 Hemifacial and headache Transnasal None 4% lidocaine 1 Case report 80% reductionin painintensity
Cohen et al. [33] 2009 Postdural punctureheadache
Cotton tipapplicator
None Lignocaine 13 Case series 11 out of 13had immediaterelief ofheadache
Morelli et al. [68] 2010 Paroxysmal hemicraniaresistant to multipletherapies
Endoscopic needleinjection into thenasal mucousmembraneimmediatelybehind and overthe inferior portionof the sphenopalatineforamen and intothe fossa
None Triamcinoloneacetonide,1% bupivacaine,2% mepivacainewith adrenalin
1 Case report Reduction infrequencyand intensityof pain
Rodman et al. [35] 2012 Nasal pain or headache Endoscopic needleinjection
None 0.5% bupivacaineand triamcinoloneacetonide
147 Case series 81.3% of patientshave improvement
Grant et al. [69] 2014 Tension headache inpregnant woman
Cotton tipapplicator
None 4% lidocaine 1 Case report BID block fora total of 7blocks, painfree after
Kastler et al. [55] 2014 Cluster headache (14),persistent idiopathicfacial pain (10), andother types of facialpain (18)
Infrazygomaticapproach
CT Absolute alcohol 28 Case series 85.7% ofpatient withpersistentidiopathicfacial painand 40% ofother typesof facial painhad 50%pain reliefat 1 month
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 14 of 27
headache, second-division trigeminal neuralgia and mi-graine are each based on one small study, and it is onlymeant for acute treatment. There is no positive con-trolled study warranting chronic treatment with SPGblock. For other pain syndromes, grade of recommenda-tions is C due to the lack of positive controlled studies.These syndromes include postdural puncture headache,sphenopalatine maxillary neuralgia, facial neuralgia,sympathetic neuralgia, post-traumatic atypical facialpain, atypical odontalgia, pain from midline granuloma,herpetic keratitis, hemifacial headache, paroxysmalhemicrania, nasal pain, hemicrania continua, trigeminalneuropathy, cancer pain, seizures associated nasal path-ology, arthritic pain and muscle spasm, intercostal neur-itis, persistent hiccups, ureteral colic, dysmenorrhea,peripheral painful vascular spasm, complex regional painsyndrome and hypertension. Use of SPG block for myofas-cial pain, including fibromyalgia and head, neck, shouldermyofascial pain and low back pain, is not recommendeddue to several negative randomized-controlled studies.
Radiofrequency ablationFifteen studies were included on the topic of SPG radio-frequency ablation. One study was a small but positiveprospective cohort study for cluster headaches, while theother 14 studies were case reports and case series. Therewere no controlled studies.
Cluster headacheThere was one prospective cohort study and eight casereports/series on the treatment of cluster headache.Three case reports were on pulsed radiofrequency andsix on continuous radiofrequency ablation (Table 13).Narouze et al. [38] performed a prospective cohort studyof 15 cases of chronic cluster headaches treated withradiofrequency ablation using infrazygomatic approachunder fluoroscopy guidance. A total of 0.5 mL of lido-caine 2% was injected and 2 radiofrequency lesions werecarried out at 80 °C for 60 s each. After the ablation,
0.5 mL of bupivacaine 0.5% and 5 mg of triamcinolonewere injected. He reported statistically improved attackintensity, frequency and pain disability index up to18 months (level 2b). As for side effects: 50% (7/15)reported temporary paresthesias in the upper gums andcheek that lasted for 3-6 weeks with complete reso-lution. In only one patient, a coin-like area of permanentanesthesia over the cheek persisted. Sanders et al. [39]reported the largest case series of 66 cluster headachepatients treated with radiofrequency ablation after 12 to70 months. He reported complete relief in 60.7% ofpatients with episodic cluster headache, and in 30% ofpatients with chronic cluster headache. Of the 66 treatedpatients, eight patients experienced temporary postoper-ative epistaxis and 11 patients exhibited cheek hemato-mas. A partial radiofrequency lesion of the maxillarynerve was inadvertently made in four patients. Ninepatients complained of hypoesthesia of the palate, whichdisappeared in all patients within 3 months.The grade of recommendation is B for treating cluster
headache with radiofrequency ablation because of thepositive cohort study.
Other head and facial painThere were Seven case reports/series on various headand facial pain other than cluster headaches (all level 4,Table 14). These included Sluder’s neuralgia, posttrau-matic headache, chronic head and facial pain, atypicaltrigeminal neuralgia, atypical facial pain, chronic facialpain secondary to cavernous sinus meningioma, trigemi-nal neuralgia and SPG neuralgia due to herpes zoster.Akbas et al. [40] reported a 27-case series with varioustypes of head and facial pain. In 35% of the cases, painwas completely relieved, while 42% had moderate reliefand 23% had no relief with the SPG radiofrequency abla-tion. Because there were only case reports and caseseries available, the grade recommendation is C for anyof these conditions.
Table 11 Studies of SPG blocks for other pain syndromes of the head and face (Continued)Pain syndromes of the head and face
Author Year Medicalproblems
Approach Imaging Medication Numberof cases
Study design Outcome
Androulakiset al. [70]
2016 Hemicraniacontinua
Tx360 device None Repetitive 0.5%bupivacaine
1 Case report Significantimprovementin headacheby 14 week
Malec-Milewskaet al. [71]
2015 Trigeminalneuropathy
Zygomaticapproach
Fluoroscopy 65% ethanolwith lidocaine
20 Case series Significantpain relief
Schaffer [34] 2015 Acute anterior or globalheadache
Tx360 device None 0.5% bupivacaine 93 Randomizedplacebo-controlled
No statisticallysignificantdifference
Sussman et al. [72] 2016 Chronic posttraumaticheadache after sport-related concussion
Cotton-tip applicator None 2% lidocaine and0.5% bupivacaine
1 Case report Symptom free at6-month follow-up
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 15 of 27
Table 12 Studies of SPG blocks for other syndromes
Other syndromes
Author Year Medical problems Approach Imaging Medication Number ofcases
Studydesign
Outcome
Byrd et al. [73] 1930 “Remote dysfunctions” Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None 50% butyn Over 2000cases
Case series Remotedysfunctionswere arrested
Sparer et al. [74] 1935 Recurrent convulsiveseizures associatedwith nasal pathology
Needleinjection
None Mixture ofalcohol andnovocaine
3 Case series Cessation ofseizures
Ruskin et al. [29] 1946 Muscle spasms andarthritic pain
Unknown None cocaine,novocaineor nupercaine
68 Case series Pain partiallyor completelyrelieved withSPGB andintramuscularinjections ofironyl andcalciumascorbate
Amster et al. [28] 1948 4 migraine, 2 acute torticollis,12 painful spastic shoulder,2 intercostal neuritis,3 herpes zosters,4 persistent hiccups,5 ureteral colic,3 dysmenorrhea,7 peripheral painfulvascular spasm,61 lumbosacraland sacroiliac pain
Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None Nupercaine,pontocaine,monocaine
103 Case series Relief of painand spasm in90% of cases
Ruskin et al. [75] 1949 Arthritic pain Unknown None Unknown 30 Case series Pain partiallyor completelyrelieved withSPGB and ironsalt of theadenylicnucleotide
Slade et al. [51] 1986 Tear secretion withtopical anesthesia
Needle injection,through thegreater palatineforamen
None 2% lidocaine 10 Case-control(using selfas control)
Tear secretionsignificantlyreduced by73% (p < 0.001)
Hennebergeret al. [36]
1988 Nicotine addiction Cotton tippedapplicator,transnasalapproach
None Bupivacaine,cocaine orsaline
6 withbupivacaine,5 with cocaine,6 with saline
Double-blindplacebo-controlled
Significantlyfewer symptomsof discomfortfor patients inthe anesthetictreatmentgroups than theplacebo group
Silvermanet al. [37]
1993 Experimentally inducedpain (submaximal efforttourniquet test)
Cotton tippedapplicator
None 20% lidocaineand epinephrine
16 healthyvolunteers
Double-blind,cross-overstudy
No significantdifferencebetweenexperimentaland placebogroups
Quevedoet al. [76]
2005 Complex regional painsyndrome involving thelower extremity
Cotton tipapplicator,transnasal
None 4% tetracaine 2 Case series 50% painreduction
Triantafyllidiet al. [77]
2016 Hypertension Cotton tipapplicator,transnasal
None 2% lidocaine 22 Cohort study Systolic bloodpressuresignificantlydecreased by24 hrs and by21-30 days
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 16 of 27
Table
13Stud
iesof
SPGradiofrequ
ency
ablatio
non
clusterhe
adache
Cluster
headache
Firstauthor
Year
Med
icalprob
lem
App
roach
Imaging
Tempe
rature
(°C)
Type
ofRFA
Parameter
How
toiden
tifyrig
htspot
Stud
yde
sign
Num
ber
ofcases
Outcome
Sand
ers
etal.[39]
1997
Cluster
headache
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y70
Highfre
quen
cy50
Hz,
0.2-1V
Paresthe
sia
inthepalate
Case-on
ly66
60.7%
ofep
isod
iccluster
headache
patientsreceived
completerelief,30%
inchronicclusterhe
adache
patientsachieved
complete
relief
Narou
zeet
al.[38]
2009
Chron
iccluster
headache
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y80
Unkno
wn
50Hzat
<0.5Vto
prod
uce
deep
paresthe
sia
behind
the
root
ofthe
nose
.Prospe
ctive
coho
rt15
Meanattack
intensity,m
ean
attack
frequ
ency,p
ain
disabilityinde
xsign
ificant
redu
cedat
1year
follow-up
(P<0.0005,P
<0.0003,
P<0.002,respectively)
Chu
aet
al.[78]
2011
Cluster
headache
sInfrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y42
Pulsed
50Hz,
0.5-0.7V
Paresthe
sia
attheroot
oftheno
se
Caseseries
3Tw
ohadexcellent
relief,on
ehadpartialreliefby
2mon
ths
Oom
enet
al.[79]
2012
Atypical
facialpain,
clusterhe
adache
,Slud
er’sne
uralgia,
Slud
er’sne
urop
athy
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y80
Unkno
wn
50Hz
Paresthe
sia
intheno
seandno
tin
thearea
ofthemaxillary
nerve
Caseseries
3Ade
quatepain
redu
ction:4/4
inatypicalfacialpain,2/3
inclusterhe
adache
,1/2
inSlud
er’sne
uralgia,2/2in
Slud
er’sne
urop
athy,1/1
inpo
sttraumaticne
urop
athy,0/1
inpo
st-herpe
ticne
uralgia,0/1
inSU
NCT(60%
show
edcon
side
rablepain
reliefaftera
sing
leproced
ure).
Zarembinski
etal.[54]
2014
Drug-resistant
chroniccluster
headache
,with
Jacob’sdisease
Initially
sphe
nopalatin
egang
lionblock,
then
radiofrequ
ency.
Fluo
roscop
y,CT
Unkno
wn
Unkno
wn
Unkno
wn
NA
Case
repo
rt1
Pain
sign
ificantlyim
proved
.
Fang
etal.
[80]
2015
Cluster
headache
Infrazygo
matic
approach
CT
42Pu
lsed
Unkno
wn
0.1-0.3V
toindu
ceparesthe
sia
ofthenasal
root
Caseseries
1611
episod
icand1chronic
clusterhe
adache
patients
hadcompletereliefby
6.3
days.2
episod
icand2chronic
clusterhe
adache
patientshad
norelief.
Bend
ersky
etal.[81]
2015
Cluster
headache
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y42
Pulsed
45V,2Hz,
pulsewidth
20ms
Paresthe
sia
attheroof
oftheno
se
Caseseries
32patientshadno
relief,1had
reliefun
til1mon
th.C
ontin
ueRFAgave
reliefto
allthree
patients.
Dharm
avaram
etal.[82]
2016
Cluster
headache
Lateralapp
roach
Fluo
roscop
y80
Con
tinuo
usUnkno
wn
paresthe
sia
attheroot
Case
repo
rt1
Pain
freefor2mon
ths
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 17 of 27
Table
13Stud
iesof
SPGradiofrequ
ency
ablatio
non
clusterhe
adache
(Con
tinued)
Cluster
headache
Firstauthor
Year
Med
icalprob
lem
App
roach
Imaging
Tempe
rature
(°C)
Type
ofRFA
Parameter
How
toiden
tifyrig
htspot
Stud
yde
sign
Num
ber
ofcases
Outcome
oftheno
sewas
obtained
at0.3V
Loom
baet
al.[83]
2016
Cluster
headache
Infrazygo
matic
approach
CT
80Con
tinuo
us50
Hz
<0.3Vto
indu
ceparesthe
sia
ofthenasal
root
Case
repo
rt1
Nearcomplete
resolutio
nat
6mon
ths
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 18 of 27
Table
14Stud
iesof
SPGradiofrequ
ency
ablatio
non
head
andfacialpain
First
author
Year
Med
ical
prob
lem
App
roach
Imaging
Tempe
rature
(°C)
Type
ofRFA
How
toiden
tifythe
right
spot
Stud
yde
sign
Num
ber
ofcases
Outcome
Salar
etal.[50]
1987
Slud
er’s
neuralgia
Lateral
extraoral
approach
Fluo
roscop
y60
and65
Con
tinuo
us0.2-0.3V,
paresthe
siain
thedistrib
ution
ofthemaxillary
nerve
Caseseries
7Disappe
arance
ofthetypical
pain
attacks,lacrim
ationand
nasalsecretio
n,ho
wever,a
slight,d
eep-seated
trou
ble
somesensationpe
rsisted
Shah
etal.[84]
2004
Posttraumatic
headache
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y42
Pulsed
50Hzand
0.5Vprod
uced
tinglingsensation
attheroot
ofthe
nose
Caserepo
rt1
Pain
redu
cedfro
m10/10to
1/10
Bayer
etal.[85]
2005
Chron
iche
adandface
pain
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y42
Pulsed
50Hzup
to1V,
paresthe
siaelicited
attheroof
ofthe
nose,m
otor
stim
ulation
perfo
rmed
at2Hzto
ruleou
ttrigem
inalcontact,
which
results
inrhythm
icmandibu
larcontraction
Caseseries
3021%
hadcompletepain
relief,65%
hadmod
erate
pain
relief,14%
hadno
pain
relief.
Ngu
yen
etal.[86]
2010
Atypicaltrig
eminal
neuralgia
Coron
oid
approach
Fluo
roscop
y42
Pulsed
50Hzwith
1mspu
lse
duratio
n,0.6V
Caserepo
rt1
Symptom
-free
after2yrs.
Oom
enet
al.[79]
2012
Atypicalfacialp
ain,
clusterhe
adache
,Slud
er’sne
uralgia,
Slud
er’sne
urop
athy
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y80
Unkno
wn
50Hz,paresthe
siain
the
nose
andno
tin
thearea
ofthemaxillaryne
rve
Caseseries
4atypicalfacialpain,2
Slud
er’sne
uralgia,
2Slud
er’sne
urop
athy,
1po
st-traum
atic
neurop
athy
ofinfraorbital
nerve,1po
sthe
rpetic
neuralgia,1SU
NCT
Ade
quatepain
redu
ction:
4/4in
atypicalfacialpain,
2/3in
clusterhe
adache
,1/2in
Slud
er’sne
uralgia,
2/2in
Slud
er’sne
urop
athy,
1/1in
posttraumatic
neurop
athy,0/1
inpo
st-herpe
ticne
uralgia,
0/1in
SUNCT(60%
show
edconsiderablepain
relief
afterasing
leproced
ure).
Elahi
etal.[87]
2014
Facialpain
second
ary
tocavernou
ssinu
smen
ingiom
aremoval
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y80
Con
tinuo
us50
Hz,paresthe
siain
the
nasolabialmidlineregion
Caserepo
rt1
Satisfactorypain
reliefat
12mon
ths
Akbas
etal.
[40]
2016
Atypicalfacialp
ain,SPG
neuralgiadu
eto
herpes
zoster,atypical
Trigem
inalne
uralgia
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
y42
Con
tinuo
usParesthe
siaat
theroof
oftheno
seat
0.5–0.7V.
Toruleou
ttrigem
inal
contact,motor
stim
ulationat
afre
quen
cyof
2Hz
was
applied
Caseseries
27Pain
reliefno
t
achieved
in23%,
completely
relievedin
35%
andmod
erately
relievedin
42%
ofpatients
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 19 of 27
Summary for SPG radiofrequency ablationGrade of recommendation is B for applying SPG radio-frequency ablation to intractable cluster headache. Theprotocol used in the cohort study took infrazygomaticapproach under fluoroscopy and two radiofrequencyablations were carried out at 80 °C for 60 s. However,there is not yet a randomized-controlled study to test itsefficacy. Grade of recommendation is C for other headand facial pain, including Sluder’s neuralgia, posttrau-matic headache, atypical trigeminal neuralgia, atypicalfacial pain, chronic facial pain secondary to cavernoussinus meningioma, trigeminal neuralgia and SPG neural-gia due to herpes zoster.
Sphenopalatine ganglion neurostimulationEight studies were included for SPG neurostimulation.There was one randomized-controlled study with twolong-term follow-ups of the same study and five casereport/case series on sphenopalatine ganglion neurosti-mulation (Table 15).
Cluster headacheThere was one randomized-controlled study with twolong-term follow-ups of the same study, and two casereports/series on cluster headache. Schoenen et al. [41]reported a randomized-controlled trial using SPG neuro-stimulator for patients with refractory cluster headaches.Twenty-eight patients underwent SPG stimulatorimplantation and stimulations were applied at the onsetof cluster headache. The study employed a protocol thatrandomly inserted a placebo when treatment was initi-ated by the patient for a cluster headache attack. Threesettings were delivered in a randomized fashion (1:1:1):full stimulation (i.e. customized stimulation parametersestablished during the therapy titration period), sub-perception stimulation, and sham stimulation. A total of566 cluster headaches were treated, and pain relief wasachieved in 67.1% of patients receiving full stimulationcompared to 7.4% receiving sham treatment (P < 0.0001).Pain relief using sub-perception stimulation was not sig-nificantly different from sham stimulation (P = 0.96).Acute rescue medication was used in 31% of cluster head-ache attacks in patients receiving full stimulation, com-pared to 77.4% treated with sham stimulation (P < 0.0001)and 78.4% with sub-perception stimulation (P < 0.0001).In terms of side effect, most patients (81%) experiencedtransient, mild to moderate loss of sensation withindistinct maxillary nerve regions; 65% of events resolvedwithin 3 months. Jurgens et al. [42] reported a cohortstudy from the subjects who volunteered to be followedfor 24 months from the study by Schoenen et al. In thisstudy, 61% of patients were either acute responder (>50%relief from moderate or greater pain) or frequencyresponder (>50% in attack frequency) at 24 months.
Barloese et al. [9] analyzed participants who experiencedremission from the same dataset. 30% of participants werefound to have at least 1 episode of complete attack remis-sion in the 24-month period. Ansarinia et al. [44] reporteda case series of 6 patients. Out of the 18 attacks recorded,there were 11 attacks receiving complete relief from thestimulations, 3 getting partial relief and 4 without relief.With the positive randomized-controlled trial, the
grade of recommendation is B for using SPG neurosti-mulation on cluster headache. Given the positive effectfrom these studies, further trials are encouraged.
Migraine headacheThere was one case series of 11 cases on SPG neurosti-mulation in acutely treating intractable migraine head-aches [45]. In this study, 11 patients with a history ofmigraine headache for a mean of 20 years were studied.Spontaneous and induced migraine headaches wereacutely treated with SPG neurostimulation. Out of the11 treated, two patients were pain-free, three had somepain reduction, while five had no response. Because ofthe largely negative response, there is currently notenough evidence for treating intractable migraine withSPG neurostimulation.
Other head and facial painThere was one case series and one case report on othertypes of head and facial pain. William et al. [46] reporteda case series on idiopathic facial pain, supraorbital neur-opathy, hemicrania continua, facial anesthesia dolorosaand occipital neuropathy. SPG neurostimulation wascombined with trigeminal or peripheral stimulation. 80%of the patients reviewed reported sustained relief infacial pain. It is unclear whether SPG stimulation alonewould provide the same relief in these cases. Elahi et al.[47] reported a single case of SPG neurostimulation foridiopathic facial pain with good success.Given the sparse literature, the grade of recommenda-
tion is C for SPG neurostimulation in idiopathic facialpain and D for SPG stimulation combined with trigemi-nal/peripheral stimulation in supraorbital neuropathy,hemicrania continua, facial anesthesia dolorosa andoccipital neuropathy.
Summary for SPG neurostimulationGrade of recommendation is B for applying SPG neuro-stimulation to cluster headache and C for idiopathicfacial pain. There may be a role of combined SPG andtrigeminal or peripheral neurostimulation in isolatedcases. Due to its invasive nature, SPG neurostimulationwarrants further investigations with more high quality,large-scale studies.
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 20 of 27
Table
15Stud
iesof
SPGne
urostim
ulation
Neurostim
ulation
First
author
Year
Med
icalprob
lem
Stim
ulator
App
roach
Imaging
Type
sof
stim
ulation
How
toiden
tify
therig
htspot
Stud
yde
sign
Num
ber
ofcases
Outcome
Tepp
eret
al.[45]
2009
Intractablemigraine
Med
tron
icmod
el3625
or3628
Infrazygo
matic
approach
Fluo
roscop
yCustomized
,averageam
plitu
de,
1.2V,pu
lserate
67Hz,
pulsewidth
462μs
Paresthe
siawith
stim
ulationat
the
back
oftheno
seandde
epin
the
back
ofthesoft
palate
Caseon
ly11
2pain-free,3
had
pain
redu
ction,5
hadno
respon
se,1
was
notstim
ulated
Ansarinia
etal.[44]
2010
Cluster
headache
Med
tron
icmod
el3625
Pterygop
alatine
fossa
Fluo
roscop
yCustomized
,average
amplitu
de,1.7V,
frequ
ency
88Hz,
pulsewidth
294μs
paresthe
siawith
stim
ulationin
the
posteriornasoph
arynx
androot
oftheno
se
Caseon
ly6
Total18CH
attacks,complete
resolutio
nwith
SPGstim
ulationin
11attacks,partial
in3,no
reliefin
4.
Scho
enen
etal.[41]
2013
Cluster
headache
ATISPG
stim
ulator
Pterygop
alatine
fossaproxim
ate
tothesphe
nopalatin
egang
lion
CT
Customized
,mean
frequ
ency
120.4Hz,
meanpu
lsewidth
389.7μs,m
ean
intensity
1.6mA
X-ray
Rand
omized
controlled
28cases,
with
3rand
omized
settings.
Pain
reliefachieved
in67.1%
offull
stim
ulation-treated
attackscompared
to7.4%
ofsham
-treatedattacks.
P<0.0001
Elahi
etal.[47]
2015
Idiopathicrig
htfacial
pain
Med
tron
icmod
el3378
Thepterygop
alatine
fossa
Fluo
roscop
y0.5mV,pu
lsewidth
250–450μs,and
40–80
Hz
X-ray
Caserepo
rt1
2/10
pain
on6-mon
thfollow-up
Men
get
al.[88]
2016
Cluster
headache
Med
tron
icmod
el3487A
Pterygop
alatine
fossa
Fluo
roscop
yBilateralstim
ulation,
right
0-,1+,130
Hz,
120μs,0.7V;left8-,
9+,130
Hz,120μs,
0.8V
X-ray
Caserepo
rt1
Headache
frequ
ency
redu
ced
toon
ceaweek,
pain
level1/10at
4mon
ths
William
etal.[46]
2016
Idiopathicfacialpain,
supraorbitaln
europathy,
hemicraniacontinua,
facialanesthesiado
lorosa,
occipitaln
europathy
Med
tron
icSubcom
pact
Octrode
SPG
Fluo
roscop
yUnkno
wn
X-ray
Caseseries
580%
repo
rted
sustaine
dfacial
pain
atmean
follow-upof
9.6mon
ths.
Jurgen
set
al.[42]
2016
Cluster
headache
Neurostim
ulator,
describ
edin
[41]
Pterylop
alatine
fossa
CT
Customized
,app
lied
assoon
asthepatient
feelsclusterhe
adache
attacks
X-ray
Coh
ortstud
y.Long
-term
follow-up
from
[41]
33cases
61%
ofpatients
wereeither
acuterespon
der
(>50%
relief
from
mod
erate
orgreaterpain)
orfre
quen
cyrespon
der
(>50%
inattack
frequ
ency)
at24
mon
ths
2016
Cluster
headache
CT
X-ray
33cases
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 21 of 27
Table
15Stud
iesof
SPGne
urostim
ulation(Con
tinued)
Neurostim
ulation
First
author
Year
Med
icalprob
lem
Stim
ulator
App
roach
Imaging
Type
sof
stim
ulation
How
toiden
tify
therig
htspot
Stud
yde
sign
Num
ber
ofcases
Outcome
Barlo
ese
etal.[43]
Neurostim
ulator,
describ
edin
[41]
Pterylop
alatine
fossa
Customized
,app
lied
assoon
asthepatient
feelsclusterhe
adache
attacks
Coh
ortstud
y.Long
-term
follow-up
from
[41]
30%
expe
rienced
atleast1ep
isod
eof
completeattack
remission
(attack-
freepe
riod
exceed
ing
1mon
th).
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 22 of 27
DiscussionSphenopalatine ganglion blockSphenopalatine ganglion block has been used for over acentury. In 1908, Sluder first proposed that inflamma-tion in the posterior ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses maybe involved in unilateral facial pain associated with tear-ing, congestion and rhinorrhea. He also claimed to havesuccessfully treated facial neuralgia, asthma, earache andlower-half headache. Over time, the term Sluder’s neur-algia has varied definitions across the medical literature.Its characteristics mostly resemble cluster headache andit has been suggested that the term Sluder’s neuralgia bediscarded [48]. However, an analysis suggested that clus-ter headache and Sluder’s neuralgia may be two differententities [49]. This review kept Sluder’s neuralgia andcluster headaches as two distinct type of headaches be-cause of the differences. Since Sluder’s first publication,SPG block has been reported to be used successfully intreating multiple pain syndromes, including clusterheadaches, trigeminal neuralgia, migraine, postherpeticneuralgia and atypical facial pain. It was also used fortreating intractable cancer pain of the head and face aswell as facial pain management after endoscopic sinussurgery. However, for most pain syndromes the evidencefor using SPG nerve block remains at case report andcase series level. There were a few small yet positiverandomized-controlled studies in nitroglycerin-inducedcluster headache, second-division trigeminal neuralgia,migraine, reducing the pain associated with nasal pack-ing removal after nasal operation and for reducing theneeds of analgesics after endoscopic sinus surgery. Itshould be emphasized that the evidence for treatingthese conditions with SPG block is based on very fewsmall studies. The exception lies in reducing the needsof analgesics after endoscopic sinus surgery, which isbacked by five randomized-controlled studies. It shouldbe also noted that long-term treatment may not bebeneficial, as demonstrated by the chronic repetitiveblock study in migraine by Cady et al. [16]. When SPGblock is offered as a treatment option, patients should beinformed of such caveats.
Blocking strategiesSeveral techniques exist for SPG blockade. Four types ofapplications exist: cotton-tip applicator, Tx360 device,nasal spray and needle injections. Three main types ofapproaches exist: transnasal, transoral and infrazygo-matic approaches. Cotton-tip applicator, Tx360 deviceand nasal spray can only be applied through the transna-sal approach. Needle injection, on the other hand, canbe performed in any approach. Applied local anestheticsincluded lidocaine, bupivacaine, ropivacaine, levobupiva-cine, mepivacaine, novocaine, nupercaine, pontocaine,monocaine, tetracaine, and prilocaine, with varying
concentrations, but lidocaine and bupivacaine were by farthe most common. Other medications include cocaine,ethanol and phenol. Co-medications included epineph-rine, triamcinolone and dexamethasone. Some studiesused fluoroscopy or CT to guide needle placement.Unfortunately, there are no head-to-head trials comparingthe efficacy among different blocking strategies. The rec-ommendations made in this article are based on strategiesused in the positive controlled studies.
Side effectsSide effects from SPG blockade is typically local. Poten-tial side effects are numbness and stinging at the root ofthe nose and palate, numbness or lacrimation of ipsilat-eral eye, and bitter taste and numbness of the throat.With needle injection techniques, there is also the riskof bleeding, infection and epistaxis.
Sphenopalatine ganglion radiofrequency ablationThe use of radiofrequency on sphenopalatine ganglionwas first reported by Salar et al. [50] for treating Sluder’sneuralgia. Since the first report, there were multiple casereports on using SPG radiofrequency ablation in treatinghead and facial pain. About half of the reports focusedon treating cluster headaches, but it has also been suc-cessfully used on patients with post-traumatic headache,atypical trigeminal neuralgia and anesthesia dolorosaafter cavernous meningioma surgery. However, most ofthe literature today remains at the case report and caseseries level. There was only one small prospective cohortstudy on the effectiveness of SPG radiofrequency abla-tion. Well-controlled studies are yet to be performed toconfirm the validity of this therapeutic modality in treat-ing headache and facial pain.Compared to the short-lived effect of SPG block, SPG
radiofrequency ablation tend to be long lasting. Narouzeet al. [38] reported statistically improved attack intensity,frequency and pain disability index up to 18 months inpatients who underwent SPG radiofrequency ablation.As a comparison, Costa et al. [6] only reported shortercluster headache duration with SPG block, and Cady etal. reported only up to 24 h of relief in chronic migraine[15] while no difference was found at 1 and 6 monthswith repetitive SPG block [16].
Ablation strategiesMost radiofrequency ablation of SPG were carried outwith the infrazygomatic approach. The most commonlyused temperature is 80 °C for thermal ablation, and 42 °C for pulsed ablation. There is unfortunately no head-to-head comparison between the two types of ablations.All studies confirmed the position of RF cannula/probeby applying low voltage sensory stimulation (between0.2-0.1 V) while patients felt paresthesia or tingling
Ho et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2017) 18:118 Page 23 of 27
sensation at the root of the nose. The only study withevidence level above case series was a cohort study on pa-tients with chronic cluster headache [38]. In this positivestudy, the authors applied 2 rounds of thermal ablation at80 °C for 60 s each. Pre- and post-ablation medicationswere also given (pre: 0.5 ml of 2% lidocaine; post: 0.5 mlof 0.5% bupivacaine and 5 mg of triamcinolone).
Side effectsBased on the study by Narouze et al. [38], about 50% (7/15) reported temporary paresthesias in the upper gumsand cheek that lasted for 3-6 weeks with complete reso-lution. Rare permanent small zone of hypoesthesia overthe cheek could also happen. In the large case series bySanders et al. [39], of the 66 treated patients, eightpatients experienced temporary postoperative epistaxisand 11 patients exhibited cheek hematomas. A partialradiofrequency lesion of the maxillary nerve was inad-vertently made in four patients. Nine patients com-plained of hypoesthesia of the palate, which disappearedin all patients within 3 months.
Sphenopalatine ganglion neurostimulationNeurostimulation has emerged in recent years as apotential therapeutic modality for headaches and facialpain. Even though number of studies on SPG neurosti-mulation has not been abundant, the overall quality ofthe studies has been high. The study by Shoenen et al.[41] was the only randomized-controlled study in usingSPG neurostimulation to treat chronic cluster headache.Despite the small number of participants, the effective-ness is demonstrated by the large effect size and highlysignificant P value. The two long-term follow-up articlescontinued to support the effectiveness of such interven-tion [42, 43]. These three studies combined is the stron-gest piece evidence to date, suggesting that SPGneurostimulation is effec