Three men in a boat: The comparison of the combination therapy of botulinum toxin and greater occipital nerve block with bupivacaine, with botulinum toxin monotherapy in the management of chronic migraine

Objective: This study compared the impact of the combination therapy of onabotulinum toxin A and greater occipital nerve block (GoNT-A) with onabotulinum toxin A monotherapy (BoNT-A) based on its efficacy and safety in relation to the quality of life of adult chronic migraine (CM) patients. Background: Prophylactic treatment of CM is still difficult and complex. Combination treatments do not have an evidence base yet. Methods: : This retrospective study included 85 patients. For greater occipital nerve block (GONB), 4 ml of the solution prepared using 1 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine and 3 ml of saline on both sides were bilaterally applied to 30 patients. For BoNT-A treatment, a total of 155 units of onabotulinum toxin A (BOTOX (R)) was intramuscularly injected into 31 specific points around the head and neck in 27 patients. Both protocols were similarly applied to 28 patients for GoNT-A treatment. MIDAS and HIT-6 scores were evaluated to measure patients' quality of life three months after the treatment. Results: When MIDAS and HIT-6 score groups were statistically compared, both GONB and GoNT-A applications showed a statistically significant reduction compared to the BoNT-A application (p < 0.05). The decrease in the MIDAS and HIT-6 scores of GONB and GoNT-A applications did not show a statistical difference (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of BoNT-A and GONB was superior to BoNT-A applied as monotherapy. Alternately, no significant difference was found between GONB therapy and combination therapy in all data. Combination treatments were well tolerated

Automated summary

This study compared the efficacy and safety of the combination therapy of onabotulinum toxin A and greater occipital nerve block with onabotulinum toxin A monotherapy in adult chronic migraine patients. The results showed that the combination therapy was more effective in reducing pain and improving the quality of life of patients compared to monotherapy with onabotulinum toxin A.