The effects of greater occipital nerve blockage with lidocaine on sleep characteristics in chronic migraine patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was to determine the effects of greater occipital nerve block (GONB) with lidocaine on sleep characteristics in patients with chronic migraine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty female patients who underwent GONB with lidocaine were included in the study. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS), Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS), Restless Legs Syndrome Severity Scale (RLSSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and headache diary results before and after the treatment of the patients were compared.

RESULTS: We included 20 patients (all females) in our study. The mean age was 35.80 ± 8.82 years (range 24-50). After GON blockade, the number of days with pain (p < 0.001), duration of pain (p < 0.001), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score (p < 0.001) were significantly lower than before. After GONB, BDI (p = 0.007), BAI (p = 0.022), ISI (p = 0.009), and PSQI (p = 0.026) scores were significantly lower than before. After GONB, sleep quality was better than before (p = 0.035).

CONCLUSION: This study showed that GONB with lidocaine can improve sleep quality, insomnia, and symptoms of depression and anxiety while reducing migraine headache.