Concomitant trigeminal and glossopharyngeal neuralgia: Illustrative case and scoping review.

BACKGROUND

Cranial neuralgias are characterized by sharp lancinating pain that occurs on specific regions served by cranial nerves. Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) and trigeminal neuralgia (TN) are disorders for which etiology, epidemiology, and pain regions differ. On the other hand, the treatment stays the same as microvascular decompression, which serves as a safe approach for these entities.

METHODS

We performed a specific search strategy using the following Boolean terms: (Combined hyperactive dysfunction syndrome) OR ("Trigeminal" AND "Glossopharyngeal" AND "neuralgia") AND ("Concomitant" OR "Combined" OR "Simultaneous" OR "Concurrent" OR "at once" OR synchronously"). Including PubMed and Scopus, we found 73 results, of which 10 were included in the study. Furthermore, we did a manual search for one relevant study. The studies were included only if cases with concomitant TN and GPN were present.

RESULTS

Fifteen cases were retrieved. The mean age of presentation was 66. About 53.3% of cases were left-sided; the most common etiology was posterior inferior cerebellar artery compression (73.3%). Microvascular decompression is this pathology's most popular management approach (73.3%). Only two cases reported complications (13.3%).

CONCLUSION

The concomitant appearance of TN and GPN is scarce. The microvascular decompression persists as the most popular approach. There are a few treatment modalities used apart from surgical decompression. More research on these areas should be done to generate interest in their application.