BACKGROUND: No convincing modalities have been shown to completely prevent postdural puncture headache (PDPH) after accidental dural puncture (ADP) during obstetric epidural procedures. We aimed to evaluate the role of epidural administration of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) in preventing PDPH following ADP, regarding the prophylactic efficacy and side effects. METHODS: Between January 2019 and February 2021, patients with a recognized ADP during epidural procedures for labor or cesarean delivery were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the prophylactic strategies for the development of PDPH at a single tertiary hospital. The development of PDPH, severity and duration of headache, adverse events associated with prophylactic strategies, and hospital length of stay postpartum were reported. RESULTS: A total of 105 patients experiencing ADP received a re-sited epidural catheter. For PDPH prophylaxis, 46 patients solely received epidural analgesia, 25 patients were administered epidural HES on epidural analgesia, and 34 patients received two doses of epidural HES on and after epidural analgesia, respectively. A significant difference was observed in the incidence of PDPH across the groups (epidural analgesia alone, 31 [67.4%]; HES-Epidural analgesia, ten [40.0%]; HES-Epidural analgesia-HES, five [14.7%]; P <0.001). No neurologic deficits, including paresthesias and motor deficits related to prophylactic strategies, were reported from at least 2 months to up to more than 2 years after delivery. An overall backache rate related to HES administration was 10%. The multivariable regression analysis revealed that the HES-Epidural analgesia-HES strategy was significantly associated with reduced risk of PDPH following ADP (OR = 0.030, 95% confidence interval: 0.006-0.143; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The incorporated prophylactic strategy was associated with a great decrease in the risk of PDPH following obstetric ADP. This strategy consisted of re-siting an epidural catheter with continuous epidural analgesia and two doses of epidural HES, respectively, on and after epidural analgesia. The efficacy and safety profiles of this strategy have to be investigated further.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Post-Dural Puncture Headache/epidemiology* ; Anesthesia, Obstetrical/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Punctures ; Starch ; Blood Patch, Epidural

OBJECTIVE: To investigate iron accumulation level over the whole brain and explore the possible neuromechanism of medication-overuse headache (MOH) using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). METHODS: Thirty-seven MOH patients and 27 normal control subjects were enrolled in the study for examinations with both a multiecho gradient echo magnetic resonance (MR) sequence and brain high resolution structural imaging. A voxel-based analysis was performed to detect the brain regions with altered iron deposition, and the quantitative susceptibility mapping values of the positive brain regions were extracted. Correlation analysis was performed between the susceptibility values and the clinical variables of the patients. RESULTS: In patients with MOH, increased susceptibility values were found mainly in the bilateral substantia nigra (SN) (MNI coordinate: 8, -18, -14; -6, -16, -14) as compared with the normal control subjects (P < 0.001), but these alterations in iron deposition were not significantly correlated with the clinical variables of the patients (P > 0.05). The susceptibility value in the left SN had an area under curve (AUC) of 0.734, and at the cut-off value of 0.077, its diagnostic sensitivity was 72.97% and its specificity was 70.37% for distinguishing MOH from normal controls; The susceptibility value in the right SN had an AUC of 0.699 with a diagnostic sensitivity of 72.97% and a specificity of 62.96% at the cut-off value of 0.084. CONCLUSION Increased iron deposition occurs in the bilateral SN of MOH patients, which provides a new insight into the mechanism of mesocorticolimbic dopamine system dysfunction in MOH. QSM technique can be used as a non-invasive means for quantitative analysis of brain iron deposition in migraine neuroimaging.
Humans ; Brain ; Substantia Nigra ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Headache Disorders, Secondary ; Headache ; Iron ; Brain Mapping/methods*

Humans ; Post-Traumatic Headache/etiology* ; Risk Factors ; Cervical Vertebrae/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To compare therapeutic effects between nape acupuncture combined with manipulation and simple manipulation in treating cervicogenic headache, and to verify the synergistic effect of manipulation and nape acupuncture. METHODS: Total 60 patients with cervicogenic headache were divided into two groups:nape acupuncture combined with manipulation group (group A) and manipulation group(group B). There were 30 patients in group A, including 12 males and 18 females with an average age of (41.37±12.09) years old, and an average course of disease of (23.73±15.54) months;there were 30 patients in the manipulation group (group B), including 14 males and 16 females with an average age of (42.40±12.05) years old, and an average course of disease of (25.53±14.33) months. In the group A, acupuncture therapy was performed firstly at the bilateral RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the onset time of analgesia between the two groups[(5.97±3.21) min vs(7.30±3.97) min, CONCLUSION Nape needling can prolong the analgesic time of manipulation and improve the analgesic effect of manipulation.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Post-Traumatic Headache ; Treatment Outcome

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Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Headache/therapy* ; Humans ; Needles ; Post-Traumatic Headache

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical characteristics and mechanism of cervicogenic headache. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with cervicogenic headache who were treated from May 2013 to December 2017 and had complete imaging data were selected, including 18 males and 39 females with an average age of(43.26±10.39) years old ranging from 20 to 63 years old. The duration of the disease was 4 months to 35 years with a mean of (11.74±9.47) years. The pain situation, iconography and Tinel sign were analyzed. RESULTS: The patients with cervicogenic headache often had bilateral pain. The regions mainly concentrated in the temporal region, with occipital, head or orbit pains. The VAS scores decreased with the duration of the disease. There were many cases of disc herniation(91.30%), vertebral instability(73.91%), atlantoaxial displacement(56.52%), curvature change of cervicogenic vertebra(54.35%). The number of positive Tinel sign points was between 3 and 24 (13.58±5.8) per patient. The number and extent of Tinel sign were significantly different between the affected side and healthy side(<0.05). C₂,₃ facet joints(92.98%), post mastoid(89.47%), occipital concavity(89.47%), C₃,₄ facet joints(84.21%), third occipital nerve(80.70%) were the positive Tinel sign points in patients with cervicogenic headache. CONCLUSIONS The iconography changes of cervicogenic headache and Tinel sign may contribute to the clinical diagnosis and mechanism of the disease.
Adult ; Cervical Vertebrae ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Post-Traumatic Headache ; Spinal Nerves ; Young Adult

Intracranial hypotension usually arises in the context of known or suspected leak of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This leakage leads to a fall in intracranial CSF pressure and CSF volume. The most common clinical manifestation of intracranial hypotension is orthostatic headache. Post-dural puncture headache and CSF fistula headache are classified along with headache attributed to spontaneous intracranial hypotension as headache attributed to low CSF pressure by the International Classification of Headache Disorders. Headache attributed to low CSF pressure is usually but not always orthostatic. The orthostatic features at its onset can become less prominent over time. Other manifestations of intracranial hypotension are nausea, spine pain, neck stiffness, photophobia, hearing abnormalities, tinnitus, dizziness, gait unsteadiness, cognitive and mental status changes, movement disorders and upper extremity radicular symptoms. There are two presumed pathophysiologic mechanisms behind the development of various manifestations of intracranial hypotension. Firstly, CSF loss leads to downward shift of the brain causing traction on the anchoring and supporting structures of the brain. Secondly, CSF loss results in compensatory meningeal venodilation. Headaches presenting acutely after an intervention or trauma that is known to cause CSF leakage are easy to diagnose. However, a high degree of suspicion is required to make the diagnosis of spontaneous intracranial hypotension and understanding various neurological symptoms of intracranial hypotension may help clinicians.
Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Dizziness ; Fistula ; Gait ; Headache ; Headache Disorders ; Hearing ; Intracranial Hypotension ; Movement Disorders ; Nausea ; Neck Pain ; Photophobia ; Post-Dural Puncture Headache ; Spine ; Tinnitus ; Traction ; Upper Extremity ; Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt

A 34-year-old woman came to the emergency room complaining of a severe orthostatic headache. Results of a cerebrospinal fluid tap and brain computed tomography were normal. Based on her history and symptoms, she was found to have spontaneous intracranial hypotension. She was hospitalized and her symptoms improved with conservative treatment. On the next day, her headache suddenly worsened. Cisternography was performed to confirm the diagnosis and determine the spinal level of her cerebrospinal fluid leak. It revealed multiple cerebrospinal fluid leaks in the lumbar and upper thoracic regions. It was strongly believed that she had an iatrogenic cerebrospinal fluid leak in the lumbar region. An epidural blood patch was performed level by level on the lumbar and upper thoracic regions. Her symptoms resolved after the epidural blood patch and she was later discharged without any complications. In this case, an iatrogenic cerebrospinal fluid leak was caused by a dural puncture made while diagnosing spontaneous intracranial hypotension, which is always a risk and hampers the patient's progress. Therefore, in cases of spontaneous intracranial hypotension, an effort to minimize dural punctures is needed and a non-invasive test such as magnetic resonance imaging should be considered first.
Adult ; Blood Patch, Epidural ; Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak* ; Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Intracranial Hypotension* ; Lumbosacral Region ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Post-Dural Puncture Headache ; Punctures

Cervical medial branch block (MBB) is a frequently performed procedure for management of neck pain that rarely has complications. With fluoroscopic guidance, the procedure is considered a relatively safer procedure than epidural block. We report a case of a 27-year-old woman presenting with postural headache after cervical MBB. Dural penetration by inappropriate needle placement was suspected after reviewing fluoroscopic images of the procedure. After conservative treatment, including bed rest and analgesic treatment, the patient completely recovered without any neurological complications. Complications associated with MBB are rare and previous case reports have focused only on infection or vascular injection as etiologies. This is the first report of complications related to dural puncture after cervical MBB. Our findings suggest that misplacement of the block needle by inaccurate alignment of both sides of the cervical articular pillar, assessed by fluoroscopic view during the procedure, can result in dural injury.
Adult ; Bed Rest ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Neck Pain ; Needles ; Post-Dural Puncture Headache* ; Punctures

This report suggests indications, detailed procedures, clinical efficacy and safety of ultrasound (US) guided cervical interventions, such as selective nerve root block (SNRB), medical branch block (MBB), facet joint intra-articular (FJIA) injection, third occipital nerve (TON) block and greater occipital nerve (GON) block. Comparing with fluoroscopy guided transforaminal and interlaminar epidural blocks, US guided cervical interventions have similar clinical effects and superior safety. For cervical axial pain and cervicogenic headache US guided MBB or FJIA injection can be performed. Usual targets of injection are upper cervical (C2–3) for cervicogenic headache and lower cervical (C5–6) for axial neck pain. Clinical effect of US guided MBB is reported to be similar to fluoroscopy guided MBB. Instead of upper cervical (C2–3) facet joint injection, TON block is usually performed. The accuracy of US guided TON block and MBB is reported as high with confirmation of fluoroscopy. GON block can be performed for occipital neuralgia, migraine, chronic daily headache, etc. US guided GON block is much safe and supposed to be highly accurate compared with blind technique. Ultrasonography guided cervical interventions are effective to reduce pain and most of all safe procedure. We need to use ultrasonography guided intervention actively in the field of clinic.
Fluoroscopy ; Headache Disorders ; Migraine Disorders ; Neck Pain ; Nerve Block ; Neuralgia ; Post-Traumatic Headache ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography ; Zygapophyseal Joint