Journal of Pain Research (Mar 2024)

Long-Term Follow-Up of Ultrasound-Guided Glossopharyngeal Nerve Block Treatment for Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia: A Retrospective Clinical Study of 43 Cases

  • You S,
  • Qin X,
  • Tong L,
  • Feng Z

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 17
pp. 913 – 921

Abstract

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Shaohua You,1,* Xiaoyan Qin,2,* Li Tong,3 Zeguo Feng1 1Department of Pain Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shijingshan Teaching Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing Shijingshan Hospital, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zeguo Feng, Department of Pain Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]; Li Tong, Department of Anesthesiology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) is a rare chronic neuropathic pain disorder that significantly impacts quality of life. Ultrasound-guided glossopharyngeal nerve blocks (UGPNB) have gained popularity due to their various advantages. However, there have been no studies reporting the long-term outcomes of UGPNB in a larger cohort of GPN patients.Aim: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of UGPNB in patients with GPN.Methods: We reviewed the electronic medical records of patients with GPN who received UGPNB at the Department of Pain Medicine of the First Medical Center, PLA General Hospital between June 1, 2011, and June 1, 2022. The effect of UGPNB was evaluated using the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) scale. Improvement was defined as a reduction in pain category by comparing pain categories before and after therapy. Recovery was defined as achieving BNI I after treatment. Patients who responded to treatment but then regressed to the category before therapy were considered to have experienced pain relapse.Results: A total of 43 patients with GPN who received UGPNB were included in the analysis. At discharge, 35 (81.4%) patients experienced pain improvement after treatment, and among them, 13 (30.2%) patients achieved recovery. After discharge, 13 patients (37.1%) out of the 35 effective patients experienced pain relapse at different time intervals: 0.5, 0.7, 1, 1, 3, 3, 4, 12, 15, 36, 45, 63, and 96 months. The cumulative recurrence-free survival rates were 88.85% at month 1, 82.83% at month 3, 77.04% at month 12, 70.31% at month 36, and 54.66% at month 120. Among the 13 patients who experienced relapse, four patients received a second UGPNB treatment, and pain improved in two patients (50%). No severe adverse reactions were documented.Conclusion: UGPNB is an effective, repeatable, safe, and minimally invasive treatment for patients with GPN. It may be preferable to consider UGPNB before undergoing invasive intracranial surgery or neurodestructive methods.Keywords: ultrasound-guided glossopharyngeal nerve block, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, efficacy, safety

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