Randomized, double-blind, comparative-effectiveness study comparing pulsed radiofrequency to steroid injections for occipital neuralgia or migraine with occipital nerve tenderness

^aDepartments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

^bDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

^cDepartment of Health Organization Management, Texas Tech School of Medicine, Lubbock, TX, USA

Departments of ^dNeurology

^eSurgery, and

^fNursing, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA

^gDepartment of Anesthesiology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

^hWomack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC, USA

ⁱDepartment of Neurology, Naval Medical Center-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

Departments of ^jPhysical Medicine and Rehabilitation and

^kAnesthesiology, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA

^lDepartment of Anesthesiology, Boston VA Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

^mDepartment of Anesthesiology, Naval Medical Center-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

ⁿDepartment of Surgery, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany

^oDepartment of Surgery, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI, USA

^pDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

Departments of ^qInternal Medicine and

^rNeurology, DC VA Hospital, Washington, DC, USA

Corresponding author. Address: Johns Hopkins Dept. of Anesthesiology, 550 North Broadway, Suite 301, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Tel.: 410-955-1818; fax: 410-502-6730. E-mail address: [email protected] (S. P. Cohen).

Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Received June 22, 2015

Received in revised form September 25, 2015

Accepted September 25, 2015