Greater Occipital Nerve Injection Study

Overview

About this study

This study is designed to answer the question of whether injection of the greater occipital nerve at its proximal origin, near the C2 vertebrae, using ultrasound guidance is effective in improving pain in human subjects.

HYPOTHESES

Ultrasound (US) guided greater occipital nerve (GON) injections are effective at a novel, proximal C2 location in live, human subjects, measured by improvement in visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores pre-injection compared to VAS scores 30 minutes post-injection, 2-weeks post-injection, and 1-month post-injection.
Ultrasound (US) guided injection of the greater occipital nerve (GON) at a novel, C2 location is effective at improvement of both occipital neuralgia and cervicogenic headache demonstrated by improvement in visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores pre-injection compared to VAS scores 30 minutes post-injection, 2-weeks post-injection, and 1-month post-injection. We further hypothesize that the mean improvement in VAS scores at 1-month post injection will be greater than 2 units.
Ultrasound (US) guided injection of the greater occipital nerve (GON) at novel, proximal C2 location in live, human subjects appears safe.

Participation eligibility

Participant eligibility includes age, gender, type and stage of disease, and previous treatments or health concerns. Guidelines differ from study to study, and identify who can or cannot participate. There is no guarantee that every individual who qualifies and wants to participate in a trial will be enrolled. Contact the study team to discuss study eligibility and potential participation.

Inclusion Criteria:

Subjects must be referred to the Pain Clinic for an occipital nerve injection.

Must have Occipital Neuralgia and/or Cervicogenic Headache

Exclusion Criteria:

Bilateral GON symptoms and/or cervicogenic headache symptoms
History of cervical spine surgery/procedure or trauma in past 6 months that may have caused or contributed to the occipital pain or cervicogenic headache, excluding Occipital Nerve Blocks (ONB).
Evidence of impaired sensation in the GON dermatome region
Evidence of cranial defect/abnormality near target injection site
Untreated cutaneous infection, systemic illness, or immunocompromised state
History of bleeding tendency or use of anticoagulants
History of adverse reaction to anesthetic agents or corticosteroids
Occipital nerve block in past 3 months

Participating Mayo Clinic locations

Study statuses change often. Please contact the study team for the most up-to-date information regarding possible participation.

Mayo Clinic Location	Status
Rochester, Minn. Mayo Clinic principal investigator Matthew Pingree, M.D.	Closed for enrollment

Mayo Clinic Location

Status

Rochester, Minn.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Matthew Pingree, M.D.

Closed for enrollment

More information

Publications

Publications are currently not available

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