Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks RCT

Chronic Migraine is a brain disorder with high prevalence. It is the 7th leading cause of disability worldwide according the WHO. SPG block is a treatment for migraine that has been used for two decades. It can be done by needle injection of anesthetic to the region of the SPG. However, there are now multiple catheter devices that can be used to non-invasively administer anesthetic topically through the nasal cavity to the region of the SPG where the anesthetic is then absorbed through thin membranes covering the SPG. Various anesthetic agents have been studied however currently, to our knowledge, there is no head to head comparison of the various anesthetics used. Studies of SPG blocks in the setting of chronic migraine are few as compared to the use of SPG as acute treatment for migraine. With the use of an RCT, we aim to determine the overall efficacy of SPG blocks used at longer intervals than have been studied in the past as compared to placebo, as well as to examine the relative efficacy of the anesthetics used most commonly and studied for SPG blocks. We will be using an FDA cleared device, the Sphenocath which was developed and registered with the FDA for this specific population and purpose. The study intervention is the standard practice in the UCSF Headache Center to perform SPG blocks for our patients with chronic migraine. The frequency we use in clinical practice and that we plan to study is less often than in previous studies of this intervention in this population.