A greater number of patients experienced a quicker onset of headache relief, without any new complications, from treatment with SPGB versus EBP. We believe that SPGB is a safe, inexpensive, and well-tolerated treatment. We hope that clinical trials will be conducted in the future that will confirm our findings and allow us to recommend SPGB for PDPH treatment prior to offering patients EBP.

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Normal pregnancy leads to a state of chronically increased intra‐abdominal pressure. Obstetric and non‐obstetric conditions may increase intra‐abdominal pressure further, causing intra‐abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome, which leads to maternal organ dysfunction and a compromised fetal state. Limited medical literature exists to guide treatment of pregnant women with these conditions. In this state‐of‐the‐art review, we propose a diagnostic and treatment algorithm for the management of peripartum intra‐abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome, informed by newly available studies.

The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) block is a simple and valuable technique that was discovered over a century ago, but, unfortunately, very few anesthesiology providers are familiar with this block. After some of our recent publications, physicians from different countries have reached out to us requesting more specifics on how we perform our version of the block. In this report, we provide a brief history of the block and demonstrate our three effective, simple, readily available, and inexpensive methodologies with images. We are proud to share that our three SPG block techniques have so far effectively relieved patients of chronic migraines, acute migraines, tension headaches, moderate-to-severe back pain, and post-dural puncture headaches.

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A 32-year-old woman at 36 weeks gestation with a medical history of corrected Type 1 Arnold Chiari malformation presented with an intractable headache. When methylprednisolone and morphine treatment provided no relief, we performed 2 topical transnasal sphenopalatine ganglion blocks by applying 4% lidocaine drops into each nostril via a cotton-tipped applicator. The patient's symptoms significantly improved, and she was discharged home the same day. She has been without relapse of headaches during the 6 months of follow-up by our pain service.

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A 59-year-old woman underwent an open pancreaticoduodenectomy. Thoracic patient controlled-epidural anaesthesia provided excellent incisional pain relief; however, the patient experienced intractable left shoulder pain (10/10 on the Numerical Rating Scale). To our knowledge, there is no effective established treatment for patients experiencing shoulder pain after an open pancreaticoduodenectomy. The patient’s shoulder pain did not respond to medical management with acetaminophen, ketorolac, lidocaine transdermal patch, oxycodone and hydromorphone. Then, on postoperative day 2, the acute pain service was consulted. Considering that the sphenopalatine ganglion block has been previously reported to be helpful in a number of painful conditions, including shoulder tip pain after thoracic surgery, we offered this treatment to the patient. After just one topical sphenopalatine ganglion block, using a cotton-tipped applicator, the patient’s shoulder pain entirely resolved and did not return. This is the first report of a successful treatment of intractable ipsilateral shoulder pain following an open pancreaticoduodenectomy with transnasal sphenopalatine ganglion block.