Predicting poor medical therapy efficacy in patients with trigeminal neuralgia: Insights from MRI and clinical features

Motivation: While MRI have proven valuable in predicting the surgical prognosis of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), studies on the prediction of medical therapy efficacy are still lacking. Goal(s): Our goal was to identify MRI and clinical characteristics that can predict the efficacy of medical therapy for TN. Approach: We conducted a blindly evaluation of MRI characteristics of TN. Clinical characteristics was obtained from the medical notes or phone follow-up. The correlation between MRI and clinical characteristics with medical therapy efficacy were subsequently analyzed. Results: Vertebral artery being culprit vessel and involvement of trigeminal nerve ophthalmic division correlates with drug treatment efficacy. Impact: The identified MRI and clinical characteristics in patients with TN, which are associated with the efficacy of medical therapy, can assist clinicians in offering informed guidance to patients when deciding between surgical and medical therapy.