Lidocaine for headache prevention during chronic subdural hematoma embolization.

Background: Middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) for the management of chronic subdural hematomas (CSDH) with ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) causes an evident patient discomfort due to meningeal nociceptors stimulation. The aim of this study was to assess safety and efficacy of intra-arterial lidocaine (IAL) before MMAE of CSDH with EVOH.

Methods: We analyzed all consecutive patients with bilateral CSDH undergoing MMAE with EVOH.