Clinical Effect of C2 Peripheral Nerve Field Stimulation Using Electroacupuncture for Primary Headache

• Published in: Neuromodulation (Malden, Mass.) Vol. 21; no. 8; pp. 793 - 796
• Main Authors: Ishiyama, Sumire, Shibata, Yasushi, Ayuzawa, Satoshi, Matsushita, Akira, Matsumura, Akira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Limited 01.12.2018
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Adult; Aged; Electroacupuncture; Electroacupuncture - methods; Female; Headache; Headache - therapy; Headaches; Humans; Male; Mental depression; Middle Aged; migraine; Neuromodulation; Occipital Lobe; Pain; Patients; primary headache; tension‐type headache; Treatment Outcome; neuromodulation; primary headache; migraine; Acupuncture; tension-type headache
• ISSN: 1094-7159; 1525-1403
• DOI: 10.1111/ner.12772

Objective We applied C2 peripheral nerve field stimulation using electroacupuncture (EA‐C2‐PNfS) for primary headache, and investigated its clinical effectiveness. Materials and Methods Fifty‐four primary headache patients (10 men, 44 women) with a mean age of 48.6 ± 15.0 years underwent EA‐C2‐PNfS for three months. We used questionnaires to assess outcomes; pain intensity (11‐point numerical rating scale [NRS]), quality of daily life (Headache Impact Test [HIT‐6]), depression (Self‐Rating Depression Scale [SDS]). Monthly headache days and acute headache medication days were obtained from diaries. Results The headache intensity significantly declined after the EA‐C2‐PNfS with reduction of NRS pain scale; 7.4 ± 1.9 at baseline, 4.9 ± 2.9 at three month (p < 0.001). Both HIT‐6 and SDS showed significant improvement (p < 0.001). Some patients showed moderate depression in SDS before treatment, that was alleviated in patients with tension‐type headache after the EA‐C2‐PNfS. Monthly headache days significantly decreased from 18.0 ± 9.0 at one month to 14.0 ± 10.2 at three months (p < 0.001), accompanied with reduction of the monthly acute headache medication days from 8.0 ± 6.7 to 6.4 ± 6.5 (p = 0.003). Conclusions EA‐C2‐PNfS was successfully used for reducing severity and disability in primary headache patients. We conclude that EA‐C2‐PNfS is a favorable option for medically intractable primary headache as less‐invasive neuromodulation.