The comparison of post-dural puncture headache treatment with acetaminophen-caffeine capsule and intravenous mannitol infusion: A randomized single-blind clinical trial

Post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) is a common problem after spinal anesthesia. Depending on the severity of PDPH, there are both invasive and non-invasive treatments. Caffeine has been used for the treatment of PDPH since 1949, but the administration of mannitol is a novel management to tackle PDPH.This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of acetaminophen-caffeine and mannitol in the treatment of PDPH.

We enrolled 80 patients with PDPH in the present clinical trial and observed them during 72 hours after cesarean section. Participants were randomly and equally allocated to two groups for treatment with intravenous (IV) mannitol or oral acetaminophen-caffeine. The effects of treatment were evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaire at hours of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 48. SPSS software was used.

Forty patients in each group completed the study. There was a significant reduction in the pain scores of the both groups after treatment, but the interaction between time and group demonstrated that mannitol administration was superior to acetaminophen-caffeine in pain reduction of the patients undergoing spinal anesthesia (P = 0.028). Patients’ satisfaction in the mannitol group was significantly higher than the caffeine group (P = 0.001).

This study suggests that IV mannitol infusion affects faster and earlier for the treatment of PDPH than acetaminophen-caffeine capsule. Mannitol could be probably more effective for treatment of PDPH.