Sphenopalatine Ganglion Block for Postdural Puncture Headache in the Emergency Department

Postdural puncture headaches (PDPH) are a common consequence of diagnostic lumbar puncture. The gold standard treatment for a PDPH is currently an autologous epidural blood patch (AEBP), which involves placing a needle into the epidural space of the spine and then injecting 20 ml of the patients own blood through the needle and into the epidural space to form a clot over the tear in the tissue layer that causes the headache. This is an invasive procedure that carries risks of pain, bleeding, infection, and in rare cases, neurological complications. We want to test the efficacy of using a less invasive procedure, called a sphenopalatine ganglion block (SPGB), for treatment of PDPH. SPGB has been used for many years in the treatment of migraines and cluster headaches, and there are several case reports of its use to successfully treat PDPH as well. SPGB simply involves applying a local anesthetic to the mucosa in the back of each nostril to numb the nerves that cause the headache. We hope that the SPGB will reduce the number of PDPH patients that require an AEBP.