Acute Headache Treatment in Pregnancy: Occipital Nerve Block vs PO Acetaminophen With Caffeine

NCT ID: NCT03951649

Last Updated: 2023-12-20

Study Results

Results available

Outcome measurements, participant flow, baseline characteristics, and adverse events have been published for this study.

View full results

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE4

Total Enrollment

62 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-02-10

Study Completion Date

2022-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This is an open label randomized controlled trial evaluating response to bupivacaine occipital nerve block compared to Tylenol/Caffeine cocktail in treatment of pregnant patients seeking care of headache.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

This is an open label randomized controlled trial. Women who present to the MEU with headache will be assessed by trained nurse practitioners and/or OB/GYN residents. If the woman meets criteria for the study she will be enrolled by an MEU provider doing the primary assessment.

See Figure 1 for the flow diagram depicting the patient's course through MEU. If eligible for inclusion, women will be randomly assigned to ONB or headache cocktail. Randomization will occur at time of enrollment. Prior to headache treatment 10-point visual/verbal rating scale (VRS) will be obtained. Treatment time is defined as time the patient takes the medication or the time that the needle is inserted into the greater occipital notch. At 60 min after treatment VRS will again be obtained by nursing staff or primary provider. If headache pain is resolved, defined as a VRS 0, the patient will be discharged to home (at the discretion of the managing team providing there are no other indications for further observation or admission). If pain continues to be present VRS will again be assessed at 120 min after treatment. If pain is not improved to mild range, defined as a VRS ≤ 3, or resolved, crossover treatment will be given. VRS will be obtained at 60 min after cross over treatment; if pain is resolved patient will be discharge to home. If pain continues to be present VRS will be obtained at 120 min after cross over treatment. If pain is not improved to mild pain or resolved; second line treatment of Promethazine 25mg/Benadryl 25mg will be given. VRS will again be obtained 60 min after second line treatment. If pain is not improved to mild pain (VRS ≤3) or resolved neurology consult will be considered. If at any point during treatment the patient develops new neurological symptoms study protocol will be stopped and neurology will be consulted.

Patients will be called 7 days after discharge to access short term outcomes (headache frequency since MEU visit, injection site complications, and satisfaction with treatment.) Patients will again be called at 28 days and a chart abstraction will be done to access for long term outcomes (recurrent presentation for headache to the MEU, maternal complications including preeclampsia, or fetal complications).

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Headache Pregnancy Related Occipital Nerve Block

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

headache Pregnancy Acute treatment Emergency department Occipital nerve block

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Randomized controlled Trail
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Occipital Nerve block

1. Trained OB/GYN providers will perform a physical exam to access location of occipital nerve injection based on palpation of bony landmarks.
2. Site of injection will be cleaned with an alcohol swab.
3. 5cc of 0.5% bupivacaine will be injected into both right and left occipital nerves using a 2.5 inch 25 gauge needle. The needle will be changed between injecting sites.
4. After injection is completed sterile gauze will be held on injection sites for 2-3 min or until bleeding is resolved.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Occipital Nerve Block

Intervention Type DRUG

This is an open label randomized controlled trial evaluating response to bupivacaine occipital nerve block compared to Tylenol/Caffeine cocktail in treatment of pregnant patients seeking care of headache.

Oral Acetaminophen/Caffeine Group

Acetaminophen 650mg PO and Caffeine 100mg PO (both Level A treatments for acute headache)

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Occipital Nerve Block

Intervention Type DRUG

This is an open label randomized controlled trial evaluating response to bupivacaine occipital nerve block compared to Tylenol/Caffeine cocktail in treatment of pregnant patients seeking care of headache.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Occipital Nerve Block

This is an open label randomized controlled trial evaluating response to bupivacaine occipital nerve block compared to Tylenol/Caffeine cocktail in treatment of pregnant patients seeking care of headache.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Acetaminophen/Caffeine

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

1. Women presenting to Maternal Evaluation Unit at UAB hospital
2. Confirmed live intrauterine pregnancy (previous ultrasound, bedside ultrasound, fetal monitoring)
3. Complaint of headache
4. Minimal pain level of 4 on VRS

Exclusion Criteria

1. Systolic BP \>= 140 or diastolic BP\>=90 with 1+ protein on urine dip
2. Systolic BP \>=160 or diastolic BP\>=105
3. Focal neurological symptoms
4. Altered level of consciousness defined as not being oriented to person, place, situation, and/or year
5. Complaint of seizure
6. Known under lying brain abnormality
7. Fever
8. Use of \>3 grams of acetaminophen in past 24hrs
9. ONB in the past 3 months
10. Reported allergy to study medications (Bupivacaine, acetaminophen, or caffeine)
Minimum Eligible Age

16 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

University of Alabama at Birmingham

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Rachel Sinkey

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

The Women and Infants center at the University of Alabama Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Rasmussen BK, Jensen R, Schroll M, Olesen J. Epidemiology of headache in a general population--a prevalence study. J Clin Epidemiol. 1991;44(11):1147-57. doi: 10.1016/0895-4356(91)90147-2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 1941010 (View on PubMed)

Lipton RB, Bigal ME, Diamond M, Freitag F, Reed ML, Stewart WF; AMPP Advisory Group. Migraine prevalence, disease burden, and the need for preventive therapy. Neurology. 2007 Jan 30;68(5):343-9. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000252808.97649.21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17261680 (View on PubMed)

Scharff L, Marcus DA, Turk DC. Headache during pregnancy and in the postpartum: a prospective study. Headache. 1997 Apr;37(4):203-10. doi: 10.1046/j.1526-4610.1997.3704203.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9150614 (View on PubMed)

Bushman ET, Varner MW, Digre KB. Headaches Through a Woman's Life. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2018 Mar;73(3):161-173. doi: 10.1097/OGX.0000000000000540.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29595872 (View on PubMed)

Robbins MS, Farmakidis C, Dayal AK, Lipton RB. Acute headache diagnosis in pregnant women: a hospital-based study. Neurology. 2015 Sep 22;85(12):1024-30. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001954. Epub 2015 Aug 19.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26291282 (View on PubMed)

Loder E, Biondi D. General principles of migraine management: the changing role of prevention. Headache. 2005 Apr;45 Suppl 1:S33-47. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2005.4501002.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15833089 (View on PubMed)

Cuadrado ML, Aledo-Serrano A, Navarro P, Lopez-Ruiz P, Fernandez-de-Las-Penas C, Gonzalez-Suarez I, Orviz A, Fernandez-Perez C. Short-term effects of greater occipital nerve blocks in chronic migraine: A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Cephalalgia. 2017 Aug;37(9):864-872. doi: 10.1177/0333102416655159. Epub 2016 Jun 12.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27296456 (View on PubMed)

Dach F, Eckeli AL, Ferreira Kdos S, Speciali JG. Nerve block for the treatment of headaches and cranial neuralgias - a practical approach. Headache. 2015 Feb;55 Suppl 1:59-71. doi: 10.1111/head.12516. Epub 2015 Feb 3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25644836 (View on PubMed)

Gul HL, Ozon AO, Karadas O, Koc G, Inan LE. The efficacy of greater occipital nerve blockade in chronic migraine: A placebo-controlled study. Acta Neurol Scand. 2017 Aug;136(2):138-144. doi: 10.1111/ane.12716. Epub 2016 Dec 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27910088 (View on PubMed)

Hascalovici JR, Robbins MS. Peripheral Nerve Blocks for the Treatment of Headache in Older Adults: A Retrospective Study. Headache. 2017 Jan;57(1):80-86. doi: 10.1111/head.12992. Epub 2016 Nov 30.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27901275 (View on PubMed)

Tang Y, Kang J, Zhang Y, Zhang X. Influence of greater occipital nerve block on pain severity in migraine patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Emerg Med. 2017 Nov;35(11):1750-1754. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2017.08.027. Epub 2017 Aug 14.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28844531 (View on PubMed)

Tobin J, Flitman S. Occipital nerve blocks: when and what to inject? Headache. 2009 Nov-Dec;49(10):1521-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2009.01493.x. Epub 2009 Aug 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19674126 (View on PubMed)

Blumenfeld A, Ashkenazi A, Napchan U, Bender SD, Klein BC, Berliner R, Ailani J, Schim J, Friedman DI, Charleston L 4th, Young WB, Robertson CE, Dodick DW, Silberstein SD, Robbins MS. Expert consensus recommendations for the performance of peripheral nerve blocks for headaches--a narrative review. Headache. 2013 Mar;53(3):437-46. doi: 10.1111/head.12053. Epub 2013 Feb 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23406160 (View on PubMed)

Voigt CL, Murphy MO. Occipital nerve blocks in the treatment of headaches: safety and efficacy. J Emerg Med. 2015 Jan;48(1):115-29. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2014.09.007. Epub 2014 Oct 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25440865 (View on PubMed)

Govindappagari S, Grossman TB, Dayal AK, Grosberg BM, Vollbracht S, Robbins MS. Peripheral nerve blocks in the treatment of migraine in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Dec;124(6):1169-1174. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000000555.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25415168 (View on PubMed)

Lipton RB, Baggish JS, Stewart WF, Codispoti JR, Fu M. Efficacy and safety of acetaminophen in the treatment of migraine: results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, population-based study. Arch Intern Med. 2000 Dec 11-25;160(22):3486-92. doi: 10.1001/archinte.160.22.3486.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11112243 (View on PubMed)

Marmura MJ, Silberstein SD, Schwedt TJ. The acute treatment of migraine in adults: the american headache society evidence assessment of migraine pharmacotherapies. Headache. 2015 Jan;55(1):3-20. doi: 10.1111/head.12499.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25600718 (View on PubMed)

James AH, Brancazio LR, Price T. Aspirin and reproductive outcomes. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2008 Jan;63(1):49-57. doi: 10.1097/OGX.0b013e31815e8731.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18081940 (View on PubMed)

Korucu O, Dagar S, Corbacioglu SK, Emektar E, Cevik Y. The effectiveness of greater occipital nerve blockade in treating acute migraine-related headaches in emergency departments. Acta Neurol Scand. 2018 Sep;138(3):212-218. doi: 10.1111/ane.12952. Epub 2018 May 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29744871 (View on PubMed)

Allen SM, Mookadam F, Cha SS, Freeman JA, Starling AJ, Mookadam M. Greater Occipital Nerve Block for Acute Treatment of Migraine Headache: A Large Retrospective Cohort Study. J Am Board Fam Med. 2018 Mar-Apr;31(2):211-218. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2018.02.170188.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29535237 (View on PubMed)

Negro A, Delaruelle Z, Ivanova TA, Khan S, Ornello R, Raffaelli B, Terrin A, Reuter U, Mitsikostas DD; European Headache Federation School of Advanced Studies (EHF-SAS). Headache and pregnancy: a systematic review. J Headache Pain. 2017 Oct 19;18(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s10194-017-0816-0.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29052046 (View on PubMed)

Schoen JC, Campbell RL, Sadosty AT. Headache in pregnancy: an approach to emergency department evaluation and management. West J Emerg Med. 2015 Mar;16(2):291-301. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2015.1.23688. Epub 2015 Feb 25.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25834672 (View on PubMed)

Lipton RB, Diener HC, Robbins MS, Garas SY, Patel K. Caffeine in the management of patients with headache. J Headache Pain. 2017 Oct 24;18(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s10194-017-0806-2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29067618 (View on PubMed)

Diener HC, Tassorelli C, Dodick DW, Silberstein SD, Lipton RB, Ashina M, Becker WJ, Ferrari MD, Goadsby PJ, Pozo-Rosich P, Wang SJ, Mandrekar J; International Headache Society Clinical Trials Standing Committee. Guidelines of the International Headache Society for controlled trials of acute treatment of migraine attacks in adults: Fourth edition. Cephalalgia. 2019 May;39(6):687-710. doi: 10.1177/0333102419828967. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30806518 (View on PubMed)

Bushman ET, Blanchard CT, Cozzi GD, Davis AM, Harper L, Robbins LS, Jones B, Szychowski JM, Digre KB, Casey BM, Tita AT, Sinkey RG. Occipital Nerve Block Compared With Acetaminophen and Caffeine for Headache Treatment in Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Nov 1;142(5):1179-1188. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005386. Epub 2023 Sep 28.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 37769308 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Download supplemental materials such as informed consent forms, study protocols, or participant manuals.

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

HA123456789

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id