Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation emerges as an efficient and safe treatment approach to manage cluster headache (CH) during an early UK experience using real-world data.

The real-world data was extracted using the information of 30 CH patients from the UK who proffered individual funding applications for nVNS to the National Health Service. Each of the patients from the analysis responded to adjunctive nVNS therapy during 3–6 months of the evaluation period and physicians collected their experience in terms of notes, treatment diaries, and interviews. Statistical significance was assessed via paired t-tests.

A significant decrease was observed in CH attack frequency (26.6 to 9.5 attacks/wk), duration (51.9 to 29.4 minutes), and severity (7.8 to 6.0) after the introduction of nVNS therapy. There was a decrease in use of abortive treatments. The device-related severe adverse events were also not seen with preventive treatment. The practical use of nVNS therapy in CH patients was suggested by the study findings which also complements the results of clinical trials demonstrating safety and efficacy of nVNS therapy.