Clinical Efficacy Evaluation of Ultrasound-Guided C2 Dorsal Root Nerve Pulsed Radiofrequency Combined with Stellate Ganglion Block in the Treatment of Cervicogenic Headache: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Purpose To explore the therapeutic effect of C2 dorsal root ganglion pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) combined with stellate ganglion block (SGB) in patients with cervicogenic headache (CEH). Patients and Methods We retrospectively reviewed 90 patients diagnosed with CEH who were admitted to our hospital between May 2019 and May 2022. All patients were divided into three groups (n = 30 each) according to the actual treatment method used: ultrasound-guided SGB, ultrasound-guided C2 dorsal root ganglion PRF treatment, and ultrasound-guided C2 dorsal root ganglion PRF combined with SGB treatment. Patients’ pain intensity, sleep, and mood changes were assessed by statistically analyzing their pain visual analog scale (VAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI), and short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire affective item scores before and after treatment. Results The post-treatment VAS, PSQI, and McGill scores were significantly decreased in all patients ( P < 0.05), and all three scores in ultrasound-guided C2 dorsal root ganglion PRF combined with SGB were lower than those in ultrasound-guided SGB alone and ultrasound-guided C2 dorsal root ganglion PRF alone ( P < 0.05). Conclusion The use of ultrasound-guided C2 dorsal root ganglion PRF combined with SGB in patients with CHE is effective in alleviating pain and improving sleep, and deserves to be replicated in the clinic.

High-voltage pulsed radiofrequency improves ultrastructure of DRG and enhances spinal microglial autophagy to ameliorate neuropathic pain induced by SNI

“…Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is a minimally invasive technology proposed by Sluijter 2 , 4 and has been widely used to manage several types of refractory chronic pain, such as postherpetic neuralgia 5 , cervicogenic headache 6 and trigeminal neuralgia 7 . This technique works by delivering electrical fields and thermal pulses through the catheter tip to the target nerve or tissue without damaging these structures, and the clinical standard PRF parameters are as follows: the output voltage is 45 V, the current action time is 20 ms, the intermittent period is 480 ms, the oscillating frequency of the alternating current is 500 kHz and the maximum temperature of the electrode does not exceed 42 °C 8 .…”