Wang YM, Liu X, Sun XJ, Li N, Yang ZL, Feng TC. Continuous stellate ganglion block for neurovascular headache and associated anxiety and depression. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(7): 117484 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.117484]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ye-Ming Wang, Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, No. 12 Changqing Road, Qianxi District, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei Province, China. wangyeming8011@163.com
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Psychology
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research-article
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Wang YM, Liu X, Sun XJ, Li N, Yang ZL, Feng TC. Continuous stellate ganglion block for neurovascular headache and associated anxiety and depression. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(7): 117484 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.117484]
World J Psychiatry. Jul 19, 2026; 16(7): 117484 Published online Jul 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.117484
Continuous stellate ganglion block for neurovascular headache and associated anxiety and depression
Ye-Ming Wang, Xuan Liu, Xiao-Jia Sun, Ning Li, Zhan-Long Yang, Teng-Chen Feng
Ye-Ming Wang, Xuan Liu, Xiao-Jia Sun, Teng-Chen Feng, Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei Province, China
Ning Li, Zhan-Long Yang, Department of Operating Rooms, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Wang YM contributed to conceptualization, project administration, writing - original draft; Wang YM and Feng TC contributed to methodology, writing - review and editing; Liu X contributed to formal analysis; Liu X, Sun XJ, Li N, and Yang ZL contributed to investigation; Liu X and Yang ZL contributed to data curation; Sun XJ contributed to validation; Sun XJ and Li N contributed to resources; Feng TC contributed to formal analysis; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University (Approval No. K2021151).
Informed consent statement: The requirement for written informed consent was waived by the Medical Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University because this was a retrospective study using previously collected clinical data, with no patient identifiers and no additional risk to participants.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Ye-Ming Wang, Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, No. 12 Changqing Road, Qianxi District, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei Province, China. wangyeming8011@163.com
Received: January 6, 2026 Revised: February 1, 2026 Accepted: April 2, 2026 Published online: July 19, 2026 Processing time: 172 Days and 13.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Continuous stellate ganglion block (SGB) are effective and continuous in patients with neurovascular headache. SGB significantly decreased headache intensity, frequency, and duration as well as improved anxiety and depression scores in this study, highlighting its dual effect on pain and psychological comorbidities. Pain reduction was closely associated with the improvement in emotional functioning and may represent common neurobiological mechanisms. Better outcomes were predicted by shorter disease duration, no medication overuse and lower levels of baseline anxiety. In summary, these findings establish SGB as a safe, feasible and clinically beneficial therapeutic option, providing further evidence to favor early intervention along with regular psychological evaluation in the management of headache.
