Endoscopic Treatment of Rhinogenic Contact Point Headache-Our Experiences at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of Eastern India

Abstract

Background: Headache is a universal clinical presentation in the course of everyone's life. In Rhinogenic contact point headache (RCPH), intranasal mucosal contact points are seen between the opposing mucosal surface of the nasal septum and turbinates of the lateral wall of the nasal cavity. Objective: To study the details of endoscopic treatment of RCPH and its effectiveness to relieve headache. Materials and Methods: There were 68 patients of RCPH who participated in this prospective study. The mucosal contact points inside the nasal cavity were excised by the endoscopic approach under general anesthesia. The olfactory mucosal lining was protected from injury during this surgical process. P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 68 patients with RCPH participated in this study with 38 (55.88%) males and 30 (44.11%) females with a male-to-female ratio of 1.26:1. All patients underwent endoscopic excision of the intranasal mucosal contact points. After 3 months of endoscopic excision of the intranasal mucosal contact points, the symptoms disappeared in 52 (76.47%) patients, and significantly improved in 13 (19.1%) patients. Only 3 (4.41%) patients did not show obvious improvement. Satisfactory results were archived by endonasal excision of the mucosal contact points in 65 (95.58%) patients with RCPH. Conclusion: RCPH is an important cause of headache. Endoscopic surgical excision of the intranasal mucosal contact points in patients of RCPH is useful to relieve headache effectively.