Acute Headache Management for Patients with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: An International Survey of Health Care Providers

Blazing the trail! Commentary on "Intra-arterial lidocaine administration in middle meningeal artery for short-term treatment of subarachoid hemorrhage-related headaches" by Qureshi et al

In their recently published INR study, Qureshi et al. present their results on intra-arterial lidocaine administration in the middle meningeal artery for the short-term treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-related headaches. The authors demonstrate that their proposed intra-arterial treatment consistently alleviates headaches in patients with SAH. The purpose of this commentary is to commend the authors on their paper and the notable results they have achieved. It is always pleasant to encounter studies that not only make it to the "Latest Online" section of neurointerventional journals but also push the boundaries, advancing our understanding and care for patients in the most meaningful ways. There is no doubt that our field has witnessed remarkable progress and an expanding spectrum of interventions that endovascular neuroservices can offer. Several therapeutic approaches have emerged from similarly constructive articles, including intra-arterial chemotherapy for malignant cerebral tumors, innovative treatments for cerebrospinal fluid-venous fistulas, hydrocephalus, and chronic subdural hematomas, as well as the implantation of brain-computer interface devices.

Rationale and Design for the BLOCK-SAH Study (Pterygopalatine Fossa Block as an Opioid-Sparing Treatment for Acute Headache in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage): A Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial with a Sequential Parallel Comparison Design

BACKGROUND

Acute post-subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) headaches are common and severe. Management strategies for post-SAH headaches are limited, with heavy reliance on opioids, and pain control is overall poor. Pterygopalatine fossa (PPF) nerve blocks have shown promising results in treatment of acute headache, including our preliminary and published experience with PPF-blocks for refractory post-SAH headache during hospitalization. The BLOCK-SAH trial was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of bilateral PPF-blocks in awake patients with severe headaches from aneurysmal SAH who require opioids for pain control and are able to verbalize pain scores.

METHODS

BLOCK-SAH is a phase II, multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial using the sequential parallel comparison design (SPCD), followed by an open-label phase.

RESULTS

Across 12 sites in the United States, 195 eligible study participants will be randomized into three groups to receive bilateral active or placebo PPF-injections for 2 consecutive days with periprocedural monitoring of intracranial arterial mean flow velocities with transcranial Doppler, according to SPCD (group 1: active block followed by placebo; group 2: placebo followed by active block; group 3: placebo followed by placebo). PPF-injections will be delivered under ultrasound guidance and will comprise 5-mL injectates of 20 mg of ropivacaine plus 4 mg of dexamethasone (active PPF-block) or saline solution (placebo PPF-injection).

CONCLUSIONS

The trial has a primary efficacy end point (oral morphine equivalent/day use within 24 h after each PPF-injection), a primary safety end point (incidence of radiographic vasospasm at 48 h from first PPF-injection), and a primary tolerability end point (rate of acceptance of second PPF-injection following the first PPF-injection). BLOCK-SAH will inform the design of a phase III trial to establish the efficacy of PPF-block, accounting for different headache phenotypes.

Headache Management in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Headache is a common symptom in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NeuroICU). Our goal is to provide an overview of approaches to headache management for common neurocritical care conditions.

RECENT FINDINGS

Headache disorders afflict nearly half of patients admitted to the NICU. Commonly encountered disorders featuring headache include cerebrovascular disease, trauma, and intracranial infection. Approaches to pain are highly variable, and multimodal pain regimens are commonly employed. The overall body of evidence supporting therapeutic strategies to manage headache in the critical care setting is slim, and pain control remains suboptimal in many cases with persistent reliance on opioids. Headache is a complex, frequently occurring phenomenon in the NeuroICU care setting. At present, literature on evidence-based practice for management of headache in the critical care setting remains scarce, and despite multimodal approaches, reliance on opioids is commonplace.

Personalizing Prediction of High Opioid Use in the Neurointensive Care Unit: Development and Validation of a Stratified Risk Model for Acute Brain Injury Due to Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to develop and validate a stratified risk model for predicting high opioid use in patients with acute brain injury due to stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to a neurocritical care intensive care unit. Methods: We examined the factors associated with the use of high-opioids (≥75th quartile, ≥17.5 oral morphine equivalent/ICU day) in a retrospective cohort study including patients with acute ischemic stroke, spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage, and TBI. We then developed, trained, and validated a risk model to predict high-dose opioids. Results: Among 2490 patients aged 45-64 years (β = -0.25), aged 65-80 years (β = -0.97), and aged ≥80 years (β = -1.17), a history of anxiety/depression (β = 0.57), a history of illicit drug use (β = 0.79), admission diagnosis (β = 1.21), lowest Glasgow Coma Scale Score (GCSL) [GCSL 3-8 (β = -0.90], {GCS L 9-12 ((β = -0.34)], mechanical ventilation (β = 1.21), intracranial pressure monitoring (β = 0.69), craniotomy/craniectomy (β = 0.6), and paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (β = 1.12) were found to be significant predictors of high-dose opioid use. When validated, the model demonstrated an area under the curve ranging from 0.72 to 0.82, accuracy ranging from 0.68 to 0.91, precision ranging from 0.71 to 0.94, recall ranging from 0.75 to 1, and F1 ranging from 0.74 to 0.95. Conclusions: A personalized stratified risk model may allow clinicians to predict the risk of high opioid use in patients with acute brain injury due to stroke or TBI. Findings need validation in multi-center cohorts.

A Propensity Score-Weighted Analysis of Short-Term Corticosteroid Therapy for Refractory Pain Following Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND

Corticosteroids are prescribed for refractory headache in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) despite limited supporting evidence. We hypothesized that a short course of corticosteroids would reduce pain.

METHODS

We reviewed all patients who received corticosteroids for refractory headache following spontaneous SAH within our institutional database. Pain was measured by a numeric rating scale (NRS) every 2 h. The primary outcome was maximum daily NRS score; secondary outcomes were the mean daily NRS score and daily opioid consumption. Propensity scores were developed using potential predictors of corticosteroid use, including age, sex, pretreatment 24-h pain burden, and the number of analgesics being used to control pain. Inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to balance baseline covariate distributions between patients receiving corticosteroids and control patients. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze longitudinal NRS scores and oral morphine equivalents based on the weighted cohort.

RESULTS

A total of 213 patients were included. The mean age was 55 (SD 13) years, and 141 of 213 (66%) were female. Of 213 patients, 195 (92%) had a low clinical grade (i.e., Hunt-Hess grades 1-3). Seventy patients were prescribed corticosteroids on postbleed day 5 (SD 3.3) on average, with an average of 26 (SD 10) mg of dexamethasone over 48 h. Patients receiving corticosteroids and controls were well balanced on baseline predictors of treatment status. After IPTW, we found that corticosteroid therapy reduced the daily maximum pain NRS score by 0.59 (SE = 0.39, p = 0.12), 0.96 (SE = 0.42, p = 0.02), and 0.91 (SE = 0.46, p = 0.048) on days 1-3, respectively, after adjusting for control effects. The mean daily pain NRS score and daily opioid use were nonsignificantly reduced in the 3 days following corticosteroid initiation after adjusting for control effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Short-term corticosteroids only slightly reduced maximum pain severity after spontaneous SAH. Other analgesic strategies are required to manage refractory pain in this population.

Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors for Headache After Elective Cranial Neurosurgery: Results from a Systematic Review of Efficacy of Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors for Headache After Acute Brain Injury

Headache management after acute brain injury (ABI) is challenging. Although opioids are commonly used, selective cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors (COXIBs) may be promising alternatives. However, concerns about cardiovascular effects and bleeding risk have limited their use. We aimed at summarizing available data on efficacy of COXIBs for headache management following ABI. A systematic review was conducted through MEDLINE and Embase for articles published through September 2023 (PROSPERO identifier: CRD42022320453). No language filters were applied to the initial searches. Interventional or observational studies and systematic reviews assessing efficacy of COXIBs for headache in adults with ABI were eligible. Article selection was performed by two independent reviewers using DistillerSR. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis, and meta-analysis was unfeasible because of study heterogeneity. Of 3190 articles identified, 6 studies met inclusion criteria: 4 randomized controlled trials and 2 retrospective cohort studies, all conducted in elective cranial neurosurgical patients (total N = 738) between 2006 and 2022. Five studies used COXIBs in the intervention group only. Of the six studies, four found a reduction in overall pain scores in the intervention group, whereas one showed improvement only at 6 h postoperatively, and one did not find significant differences. Pain scores decreased between 4 and 15%, the largest shift being from moderate to mild severity. Three studies found an overall opioid use reduction throughout hospitalization in the intervention group, whereas one reported a reduction at 12 h postoperatively only. Opioid consumption decreased between 9 and 90%. Two studies found a decrease in hospital length of stay by ~ 1 day in the intervention group. The one study reporting postoperative hemorrhage found a statistically nonsignificant 3% reduction in the intervention group. COXIBs may serve as opioid-sparing adjunctive analgesics for headache control after elective cranial surgery. Limited or no literature exists for other forms of ABI, and additional safety data remain to be elucidated.

Addressing the Evidence Gap in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The Need for a Pragmatic Randomized Trial Platform

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) occurs less often than other stroke types but affects younger patients, imposing a disproportionately high burden of long-term disability. Although management advances have improved outcomes over time, relatively few aSAH treatments have been tested in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). One lesson learned from COVID-19 is that trial platforms can facilitate the efficient execution of multicenter RCTs even in complex diseases during challenging conditions. An aSAH trial platform with standardized eligibility criteria, randomization procedures, and end point definitions would enable the study of multiple targeted interventions in a perpetual manner, with treatments entering and leaving the platform based on predefined decision algorithms. An umbrella institutional review board protocol and clinical trial agreement would allow individual arms to be efficiently added as amendments rather than stand-alone protocols. Standardized case report forms using the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke common data elements and general protocol standardization across arms would create synergies for data management and monitoring. A Bayesian analysis framework would emphasize frequent interim looks to enable early termination of trial arms for futility, common controls, borrowing of information across arms, and adaptive designs. A protocol development committee would assist investigators and encourage pragmatic designs to maximize generalizability, reduce site burden, and execute trials efficiently and cost-effectively. Despite decades of steady clinical progress in the management of aSAH, poor patient outcomes remain common, and despite the increasing availability of RCT data in other fields, it remains difficult to perform RCTs to guide more effective care for aSAH. The development of a platform for pragmatic RCTs in aSAH would help close the evidence gap between aSAH and other stroke types and improve outcomes for this important disease with its disproportionate public health burden.

Efficacy of Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors for Headache in Acute Brain Injury: A Systematic Review

Background

Headache management after acute brain injury (ABI) is challenging. While opioids are commonly used, selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (COXIBs) may be promising alternatives. However, concerns about cardiovascular effects and bleeding risk have limited their use. We aimed at summarizing available data on efficacy of COXIBs for headache management following ABI.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted through MEDLINE and Embase for articles published through 09/2023 (PROSPERO CRD42022320453). No language filters were applied to the initial searches. Interventional or observational studies and systematic reviews assessing efficacy of COXIBs for headache in adults with ABI were eligible. Article selection was performed by two independent reviewers using Distiller SR®. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis, while meta-analysis was unfeasible due to study heterogeneity.

Results

Of 3190 articles identified, six studies met inclusion criteria: four randomized controlled trials and two retrospective cohort studies, all conducted in neurosurgical patients (total n=738) between 2006-2022. Five studies used COXIBs in the intervention group only. Of the six studies, four found a reduction in overall pain scores in the intervention group, while one showed improvement only at 6 hours postoperative, and one did not find significant differences. Pain scores decreased between 4-15%, the largest shift being from moderate to mild severity. Three studies found an overall opioid use reduction throughout hospitalization in the intervention group, while one reported a reduction at 12 hours postoperative only. Opioid consumption decreased between 9-90%. Two studies found a decrease in hospital-length-of-stay by ~1 day in the intervention group. The one study reporting postoperative hemorrhage found a statistically non-significant 3% reduction in the intervention group.

Conclusions

In adults with ABI, COXIBs may serve as opioid-sparing adjunctive analgesics for headache control, with limited but pointed data to indicate efficacy in the post-neurosurgical setting. However, further safety data remains to be elucidated.

Comparison of Pocock and Simon's covariate-adaptive randomization procedures in clinical trials

When multiple influential covariates need to be balanced during a clinical trial, stratified blocked randomization and covariate-adaptive randomization procedures are frequently used in trials to prevent bias and enhance the validity of data analysis results. The latter approach is increasingly used in practice for a study with multiple covariates and limited sample sizes. Among a group of these approaches, the covariate-adaptive procedures proposed by Pocock and Simon are straightforward to be utilized in practice. We aim to investigate the optimal design parameters for the patient treatment assignment probability of their developed three methods. In addition, we seek to answer the question related to the randomization performance when additional covariates are added to the existing randomization procedure. We conducted extensive simulation studies to address these practically important questions.

Acute Pain and Development of Opioid Use Disorder: Patient Risk Factors

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Pharmacological therapy for acute pain carries the risk of opioid misuse, with opioid use disorder (OUD) reaching epidemic proportions worldwide in recent years. This narrative review covers the latest research on patient risk factors for opioid misuse in the treatment of acute pain. In particular, we emphasize newer findings and evidence-based strategies to reduce the prevalence of OUD.

RECENT FINDINGS

This narrative review captures a subset of recent advances in the field targeting the literature on patients' risk factors for OUD in the treatment for acute pain. Besides well-recognized risk factors such as younger age, male sex, lower socioeconomic status, White race, psychiatric comorbidities, and prior substance use, additional challenges such as COVID-19 further aggravated the opioid crisis due to associated stress, unemployment, loneliness, or depression. To reduce OUD, providers should evaluate both the individual patient's risk factors and preferences for adequate timing and dosing of opioid prescriptions. Short-term prescription should be considered and patients at-risk closely monitored. The integration of non-opioid analgesics and regional anesthesia to create multimodal, personalized analgesic plans is important. In the management of acute pain, routine prescription of long-acting opioids should be avoided, with implementation of a close monitoring and cessation plan.

Safety and efficacy of peripheral nerve blocks to treat refractory headaches after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage - A pilot observational study

Objectives

Headache after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (HASH) is common, severe, and often refractory to conventional treatments. Current treatment standards include medications including opioids, until the pain is mitigated. Peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) may be an effective therapeutic option for HASH. We conducted a small before-and-after study of PNBs to determine safety, feasibility, and efficacy in treatment of HASH.

Methods

We conducted a pilot before-and-after observational study and collected data for 5 patients in a retrospective control group and 5 patients in a prospective intervention PNB group over a 12-month period. All patients received a standard treatment of medications including acetaminophen, magnesium, gabapentin, dexamethasone and anti-spasmodics or anti-emetics as needed. Patients in the intervention group received bilateral greater occipital, lesser occipital, and supraorbital PNBs in addition to medications. The primary outcome was pain severity, measured by Numeric pain rating scale (NPRS). All patients were followed for 1 week following enrollment.

Results

The mean ages in the PNB group and control group were 58.6 and 57.4, respectively. One patient in the control group developed radiographic vasospasm. Three patients in both groups had radiographic hydrocephalus and IVH, requiring external ventricular drain (EVD) placement. The PNB group had an average reduction in mean raw pain score of 2.76 (4.68, 1.92 p = 0.024), and relative pain score by 0.26 (0.48, 0.22 p = 0.026), compared to the control group. The reduction occurred immediately after PNB administration.

Conclusion

PNB can be a safe, feasible and effective treatment modality for HASH. Further investigations with a larger sample size are warranted.

The Prevalence and Factors Associated with the Prescription of Opioids for Head/Neck Pain after Elective Craniotomy for Tumor Resection/Vascular Repair: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background and objective: There is no report of the rate of opioid prescription at the time of hospital discharge, which may be associated with various patient and procedure-related factors. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with prescribing opioids for head/neck pain after elective craniotomy for tumor resection/vascular repair. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study on adults undergoing elective craniotomy for tumor resection/vascular repair at a large quaternary-care hospital. We used univariable and multivariable analysis to examine the prevalence and factors (pre-operative, intraoperative, and postoperative) associated with prescribing opioids at the time of hospital discharge. We also examined the factors associated with discharge oral morphine equivalent use. Results: The study sample comprised 273 patients with a median age of 54 years [IQR 41,65], 173 females (63%), 174 (63.7%) tumor resections, and 99 (36.2%) vascular repairs. The majority (n = 264, 96.7%) received opioids postoperatively. The opiate prescription rates were 72% (n = 196/273) at hospital discharge, 23% (19/83) at neurosurgical clinical visits within 30 days of the procedure, and 2.4% (2/83) after 30 days from the procedure. The median oral morphine equivalent (OME) at discharge use was 300 [IQR 175,600]. Patients were discharged with a median supply of 5 days [IQR 3,7]. On multivariable analysis, opioid prescription at hospital discharge was associated with pre-existent chronic pain (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 1.87 [1.06,3.29], p = 0.03) and time from surgery to hospital discharge (compared to patients discharged within days 1−4 postoperatively, patients discharged between days 5−12 (aOR 0.3, 95% CI [0.15; 0.59], p = 0.0005), discharged at 12 days and later (aOR 0.17, 95% CI [0.07; 0.39], p < 0.001)). There was a linear relationship between the first 24 h OME (p < 0.001), daily OME (p < 0.001), hospital OME (p < 0.001), and discharge OME. Conclusions: This single-center study finds that at the time of hospital discharge, opioids are prescribed for head/neck pain in as many as seven out of ten patients after elective craniotomy. A history of chronic pain and time from surgery to discharge may be associated with opiate prescriptions. Discharge OME may be associated with first 24-h, daily OME, and hospital OME use. Findings need further evaluation in a large multicenter sample. The findings are important to consider as there is growing interest in an early discharge after elective craniotomy.