Ultrasound‐guided stellate ganglion block for the treatment of migraine in elderly patients: A retrospective and observational study

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound‐guided stellate ganglion block (SGB) in the prophylactic treatment of migraine in the elderly. Background Treatment of migraine in the elderly is often difficult and troublesome due to multiple comorbidities, drug interactions, and adverse effects (AEs). SGB may be an effective treatment approach for migraine in the elderly as its clinical use is rarely limited by concomitant diseases and age‐related physiological changes; however, no studies have evaluated the effectiveness of SGB in the treatment of migraine in the elderly population. Methods This is a retrospective observational case series study. We retrospectively analyzed patients with migraine aged ≥65 years, who underwent ultrasound‐guided SGB for headache management between January 2018 and November 2022. Pain intensity using the numerical rating scale (NRS, 0–10), number of days with headache per month, duration of headache, and the consumptions of acute medications were recorded before SGB treatment, and at 1, 2, and 3 months after the last SGB. Safety assessment included thorough documentation of serious and minor AEs related to SGB. Results Of 71 patients, 52 were analyzed in this study. After the final SGB, the NRS scores decreased significantly from a mean (± standard deviation [SD]) of 7.3 (1.2) at baseline to 3.3 (1.4), 3.1 (1.6), and 3.6 (1.6) at 1, 2, and 3 months, respectively (vs. baseline, p < 0.001). The mean (SD) number of headache days per month significantly reduced from 23.1 (5.5) to 10.9 (7.1) ( p < 0.001), 12.7 (6.5) ( p = 0.001), and 14.0 (6.8) days ( p = 0.001) at the 1‐, 2‐, and 3‐month follow‐ups, respectively. The values of headache duration were also significantly lower at the 1‐month (mean [SD] 12.5 [15.8] h, p = 0.001), 2‐month (mean [SD] 11.3 [15.9] h, p = 0.001), and 3‐month follow‐ups (mean [SD] 14.3 [16.0] h, p = 0.001) compared to pre‐treatment baseline (mean [SD] 22.7 [17.1] h). There were 33/52 (64%) patients experiencing at least a 50% reduction in acute medications consumption 3 months after the final SGB treatment. The overall AEs rate associated with ultrasound‐guided SGB was 9.0% (26/290 SGBs). There were no serious AEs; all reported AEs were minor and transient. Conclusions Stellate ganglion block treatment could reduce pain intensity, headache frequency, and duration of migraine, thereby reducing the need for adjunctive medications in elderly patients. Ultrasound‐guided SGB might be a safe and effective intervention for the treatment of migraine in elderly patients.