Occipital nerve stimulation in pediatric patients with refractory occipital neuralgia

Occipital neuralgia (ON) is a disabling problem within the pediatric population. Many of these patients fail medical therapies and continue to suffer without further surgical management. Occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) is used to treat ON in the adult population leading to a 72–89% reduction in pain; however, there are limited studies regarding its use in the pediatric population. In this study, we examined the outcomes of ONS in pediatric patients with medically refractory ON.

We performed a chart review of pediatric patients at our institution who have undergone ONS for the same indications.

We identified 3 patients at our institution who underwent ONS trial and/or permanent implantation for ON. One patient had complete pain relief after the trial and declined permanent implantation. The other patient had fewer attacks compared to his pre-trial baseline and controlled them by adjusting his permanent implant stimulation settings. The last patient had near complete relief of her symptoms and no longer required any pain medication.

Our study highlights the paucity of studies evaluating the utility of ONS in the pediatric ON population. Limited data from both the literature and our institution’s experience reveal that pediatric patients may benefit from trial and/or permanent implantation of ONS for medically refractory ON pain.