OnabotulinumtoxinA Nerve Blocks in the Treatment of Occipital Neuralgia

Occipital neuralgia is characterized by severe pain, accompanied by tenderness and trigger points, in the distribution of the greater, lesser, and/or third occipital nerves. Occipital neuralgia is typically idiopathic, but also is characterized as a common form of posttraumatic headache. Typical treatments include nerve blocks with local anesthetic, nerve stimulation, pulsed radiofrequency, and cryoablation. OnabotulinumtoxinA (ONA) has recently been utilized in nerve blocks to treat occipital neuralgia, with the potential for a longer duration of pain relief than local anesthetic. Our study retrospectively examined 63 patients treated for occipital neuralgia, including 19 with ONA. 80 - 155 units of ONA were administered bilaterally in the surrounding musculature. A total of 61 patients, including 17 of those subsequently treated with ONA, were treated with local anesthetic, using a 1:1 mixture of 0.25% bupivacaine and 1% lidocaine, plus triamcinolone. Patients reported VAS pain scores before and after their procedures, and again during 4-week follow-up visits. Information on opioid use, overall pain relief, and duration of full relief was also recorded upon follow-up. Patients treated with ONA exhibited significant decreases in average VAS pain scores from 4.1 ± 2.6 pre-procedure to 2.1 ± 2.4 post-procedure (p = 2 × 10 -5), and 3.0 ± 2.5 4 weeks later (p = 0.0234). Mean overall relief was 75.8% ± 25.0%. Treatment with local anesthetic suggested equally efficacious reduction of VAS scores; however, treatment with ONA showed a significantly higher percentage of overall pain relief leading to follow-up. Opioid use did not exhibit significant change, regardless of treatment type. Our results support the hypothesis that use of Onabotulinum-toxinA in occipital nerve blocks leads to significant decreases in pain, while possibly exhibiting a longer duration of action than that of local anesthetic.