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Nerve Blocks in Pediatric and Adolescent Headache Disorders

  • Childhood and Adolescent Headache (S Evers, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Pain and Headache Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Peripheral nerve blocks of the scalp, mainly greater occipital nerve blocks, have received a renewed interest amongst pediatric providers as they offer an alternate option to provide both acute and chronic relief from the suffering of children with difficult to treat headaches. This narrative review will provide an in-depth discussion of the published pediatric-specific studies exploring the utility of nerve blocks for pediatric headache disorders.

Recent Findings

A total of seven pediatric publications have been reported to date and reveal excellent therapeutic effectiveness of bilateral greater occipital nerve blocks on primary chronic headaches and post-traumatic headaches. Lidocaine is the preferred anesthetic choice and the value-added of concomitant steroids remains to be elucidated. It is important to ensure complete paresthesia of the blocked nerves to maximize effectiveness.

Summary

The available studies suggest that peripheral nerve blocks of the scalp are an excellent tool that frontline clinicians can add to their armamentarium in treating pediatric headaches.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgement

Special acknowledgment to the late Dr Rubin Dubrovsky, who inspired me to treat patients and their families suffering with acute and chronic pain, with an empathetic and pragmatic approach.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Montreal Children’s Hospital - McGill University Health Center, 1001 Decarie Boulevard, Montreal, Quebec, H4A 3J1, Canada

    Alexander Sasha Dubrovsky

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  1. Alexander Sasha Dubrovsky
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Correspondence to Alexander Sasha Dubrovsky.

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Conflict of Interest

Alexander Sasha Dubrovsky declares no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Childhood and Adolescent Headache

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Dubrovsky, A.S. Nerve Blocks in Pediatric and Adolescent Headache Disorders. Curr Pain Headache Rep 21, 50 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-017-0650-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-017-0650-8

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