Greater occipital nerve block efficacy in COVID-19 associated headache: a preliminary study

Abstract

COVID-19 is an infection caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Headache is one of the most common neurological findings. In the treatment of various chronic headaches, the greater occipital nerve (GON) block is often used as a safe and effective method. The aim of our study was to investigate the effectiveness of the GON block in the treatment of headaches observed in COVID-19 patients. Between March and May 2020, 27 patients (with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection by next-generation sequencing confirmation of real-time PCR) that had moderate or severe headache associated with COVID-19 and treated with a single session of GON block were retrospectively analyzed. The visual analogue scale (VAS) values and the number of analgesic usage of patients were recorded before and after the blockade on the 1st and 10th days. Fifteen (55.6%) patients included in the study were male and twelve (44.4%) were female. In terms of VAS values, the difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment values on the 1st and 10th days was found statistically significant. Likewise, the difference between analgesic use before and after the procedure was statistically significant. GON block appears to be an effective pain management method in COVID-19 related headache, and it revealed promising reductions in pain scores and analgesic usage. As well as we know, this is the first study of COVID-19 associated headache treated with GON blockade. More long term and well-designed prospective studies with more participants are needed to better define this headache and develop effective treatment strategies.