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From the American Academy of Neurology, St. Paul, MN.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Wendy Edlund, American Academy of Neurology, 1080 Montreal Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55116; phone: 651-695-1940.
| Introduction |
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| Background and justification. |
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In June 1998, Duke Universitys Center for Clinical Health Policy Research, in collaboration with the AAN, completed four Technical Reviews on migraine sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. These reviews covered self-administered drug treatments for acute migraine8; parenteral drug treatments for acute migraine9; drug treatments for the prevention of migraine10; and behavioral and physical treatments for migraine.11 The Education and Research Foundation of the AAN later funded additional reports on diagnostic testing for headache patients, an update on sumatriptan and other 5-HT1 agonists, and a report on butalbital-containing compounds for migraine and tension-type headache, using the same methodology that was used in the original Technical Reviews. A multidisciplinary panel of professional organizations (The US Headache Consortium) produced four treatment guidelines, each related to a distinct set of management decisions: diagnostic testing (primarily neuroimaging studies), pharmacologic management of acute attacks, migraine-preventive drugs, and behavioral and physical treatments for migraine.
| Clinical question statements. |
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Acute and preventive treatmentWhat are the effects on acute headache pain of medications taken during the attack? What are the effects on the frequency and/or severity of migraine attacks of medications taken on a daily basis for prevention of migraine? How safe and tolerable are acute and preventive migraine medications? How do the efficacy and tolerability issues of medications for migraine compare to placebo, alternative medications, and nonpharmacologic techniques?
Diagnostic testingWhat is the role of neuroimaging in patients who present with headache? Are particular findings in the history and on the physical examination helpful in identifying which patients have significant intracranial abnormalities? What is the frequency of significant secondary causes of nonacute headache, as detected by CT or MRI, in patients who present with nonacute headache and a normal neurologic examination? What evidence exists concerning the relative ability of CT and MRI to detect significant intracranial lesions among patients with nonacute headache?
| Description of the process. |
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| Analysis of evidence. |
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Diagnosis of migraine. The 1988 International Headache Society (IHS) classification of headache system is almost universally accepted and has become the basis for headache classification in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10b).12 Migraine is a chronic condition with recurrent episodic attacks. Its characteristics vary among patients and often among attacks in a single patient. To diagnose migraine, it is necessary to exclude secondary headache causes and then determine whether the patient has any other coexisting primary headache (e.g., tension-type headache). Testing is not recommended if the individual is not significantly more likely than anyone else in the general population to have a significant abnormality. Testing should be avoided if it will not lead to a change in management. However, testing that normally may not be recommended as a population policy may make sense at an individual level. Exceptions can be considered for patients who are disabled by their fear of serious pathology or for patients about whom the provider is suspicious even in the absence of known predictors of abnormalities on neuroimaging studies (red flags). (In the acute headache setting, which was outside of the original guidelines, risk factors for intracranial pathology include acute onset, occipitonuchal location, age >55 years, associated symptoms, and an abnormal neurologic examination. Headache type, severity, characteristics, or duration were not risk factors.13)
There was insufficient published clinical research to support evidence-based guidelines for any diagnostic testing other than neuroimaging. Previous reports that reviewed the evidence on the role of EEG found that it is not indicated in the routine evaluation of headache.14
The following symptoms significantly increased the odds of finding a significant abnormality on neuroimaging in patients with nonacute headache:
The absence of these symptoms did not significantly lower the odds of finding a significant abnormality on neuroimaging.
Neuroimaging recommendations for nonacute headache are as follows:
Treatment of migraine. Migraine varies in frequency, duration, and disability among sufferers and between attacks. It is appropriate to link the intensity of care with the level of disability and symptoms such as nausea and vomiting (stratified care) for the acute treatment of symptoms of an ongoing attack. It is not appropriate to continue ineffective or poorly tolerated medication in a sequential and arbitrary manner (step care). Consider preventive treatment (given on an ongoing basis whether or not an attack is present) for those patients whose migraine has a substantial impact on their lives and have not responded to acute care, or where the frequency of migraine attacks is such that the reliance on acute care medications would increase the potential for drug-induced (rebound) headache. The goals of long-term migraine treatment, both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic, are to:
Reduce attack frequency, severity, and disability
Reduce reliance on poorly tolerated, ineffective, or unwanted acute pharmacotherapies
Improve quality of life
Avoid acute headache medication escalation
Educate and enable patients to manage their disease to enhance personal control of their migraine
Reduce headache-related distress and psychological symptoms
Behavioral and physical interventions are used for preventing migraine episodes rather than for alleviating symptoms once an attack has begun. Although these modalities may be effective as monotherapy, they are more commonly used in conjunction with pharmacologic management.
General principles of management.
Acute treatment. Goals of acute migraine treatment are as follows:
To meet these goals:
Use migraine-specific agents (triptans, dihydroergotamine [DHE]) in patients with moderate or severe migraine or whose mild-to-moderate headaches respond poorly to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or combinations such as aspirin plus acetaminophen plus caffeine. Failure to use an effective treatment promptly may increase pain, disability, and the impact of the headache.
Select a nonoral route of administration for patients with migraine associated with severe nausea or vomiting. Antiemetics should not be restricted to patients who are vomiting or likely to vomit. Nausea itself is one of the most aversive and disabling symptoms of a migraine attack and should be treated appropriately.
Consider a self-administered rescue medication for patients with severe migraine who do not respond to (or fail) other treatments.
Guard against medication-overuse headache ("rebound headache" or "drug-induced headache"). Frequent use of acute medications (ergotamine [not DHE], opiates, triptans, simple analgesics, and mixed analgesics containing butalbital, caffeine, or isometheptene) is generally thought to cause medication-overuse headache. Many experts limit acute therapy to two headache days per week on a regular basis. Patients with medication overuse should use preventive therapy.
Evidence-based recommendations for acute treatment of migraine. A summary of evidence for treatment of acute attacks of migraine is presented in table 1. Table 2 provides a summary of acute therapies for migraine.
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Triptans (serotonin1B/1D receptor agonists).
Ergot alkaloids and derivatives.
Nonspecific medications.
Antiemetics.
Oral antiemetics are an adjunct to treat nausea associated with migraine (Grade C).
Metoclopramide IM/IV is an adjunct to control nausea (Grade C) and may be considered as IV monotherapy for migraine pain relief (Grade B).
Prochlorperazine IV, IM, and PR may be a therapeutic choice for migraine in the appropriate setting (Grade B).
Prochlorperazine PR is an adjunct in the treatment of acute migraine with nausea and vomiting (Grade C).
Chlorpromazine IV may be a therapeutic choice for migraine in the appropriate setting (Grade B).
Serotonin receptor (5-HT3) antagonists are not effective as monotherapy for migraine pain relief (Grade B), but may be considered as adjunct therapy to control nausea in selected patients with migraine attacks (Grade C).
NSAIDs, nonopiate analgesics, and combination analgesics.
Acetaminophen, alone, is not recommended for migraine (Grade B).
NSAIDs (oral) and combination analgesics containing caffeine are a reasonable first-line treatment choice for mild to moderate migraine attacks or severe attacks that have been responsive in the past to similar NSAIDs or nonopiate analgesics (Grade A). Ketorolac IM is an option that may be used in a physician-supervised setting, although conclusions regarding clinical efficacy cannot be made at this time (Grade C).
Butalbital-containing analgesics.
Limit and carefully monitor their use based on overuse, medication-overuse headache, and withdrawal concerns (Grade B).
Opiate analgesics.
Butorphanol nasal spray is a treatment option for some patients with migraine (Grade A). Butorphanol may be considered when other medications cannot be used or as a rescue medication when significant sedation would not jeopardize the patient (Grade C). Butorphanol is widely used despite the established risk of overuse and dependence. Special attention should be given to these clinical concerns.
Parenteral opiates are a rescue therapy for acute migraine when sedation side effects will not put the patient at risk and when the risk abuse has been addressed (Grade B).
Consider parenteral and oral combination use in acute migraine only when the risk of abuse has been addressed and sedation will not put the patient at risk (Grade A).
Other medications. Isometheptene and isometheptene combination agents may be a reasonable choice for patients with mild-to-moderate headache (Grade B).
Corticosteroids (dexamethasone or hydrocortisone) are a treatment choice for rescue therapy for patients with status migrainosus (Grade C).
Evidence is insufficient at this time to establish a defined role for intranasal lidocaine or lidocaine IV in the management of acute migraine headache (Grade B).
Preventive treatment. Tables 3 and 4 summarize preventive therapies for migraine. The goals of migraine preventive therapy are to: 1) reduce attack frequency, severity, and duration; 2) improve responsiveness to treatment of acute attacks; and 3) improve function and reduce disability. One or more of the following helps guide management decisions on the use of preventive therapies:
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Frequent headaches
Contraindication to or failure or overuse of acute therapies
Adverse events with acute therapies
The cost of both acute and preventive therapies
Patient preference
Presence of uncommon migraine conditions, including hemiplegic migraine, basilar migraine, migraine with prolonged aura, or migrainous infarction (to prevent neurologic damageas based on expert consensus)
These consensus-based principles of care will enhance the success of preventive treatment. Consider nonpharmacologic therapies and take patient preference into consideration.
Cognitive and behavioral treatment recommendations.
Pharmacologic preventive therapy. Individual medications have been put into treatment groups based on their established clinical efficacy, significant adverse events, safety profile, and clinical experience of the US Headache Consortium participants:
Group 1. Medications with proven high efficacy and mild to moderate adverse events.
Group 2. Medications with lower efficacy (i.e., limited number of studies, studies reporting conflicting results, efficacy suggesting only "modest" improvement) and mild to moderate adverse events.
Group 3. Medication use based on opinion, not randomized controlled trials.
a) Low to moderate adverse events
b) Frequent or severe adverse events (or safety concerns) or complex management issues
Group 4. Medication with proven efficacy but frequent or severe adverse events (or safety concerns), or complex management issues.
Group 5. Medications proven to have limited or no efficacy.
| Conclusion. |
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| Disclaimer. |
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| Appendix 1 |
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| Appendix 2 |
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Level I. Independent, blind comparison with a "gold standard" of anatomy, physiology, diagnosis, or prognosis among a large number of consecutive patients suspected of having the target condition.
Level II. Independent, blind comparison with a "gold standard" among a small number of consecutive patients suspected of having the target condition.
Level III. Independent, blind comparison with a "gold standard" among nonconsecutive patients suspected of having the target condition.
Level IV: Included studies that did not meet criteria for at least Level III evidence.
Strength of evidence (quality of evidence)
Grade A. Multiple well-designed randomized clinical trials, directly relevant to the recommendation, yielded a consistent pattern of findings.
Grade B. Some evidence from randomized clinical trials supported the recommendation, but the scientific support was not optimal. For instance, few randomized trials existed, the trials that did exist were somewhat inconsistent, or the trials were not directly relevant to the recommendation. An example of the last point would be the case where trials were conducted using a study group that differed from the target group of the recommendation.
Grade C. The US Headache Consortium achieved consensus on the recommendation in the absence of relevant randomized controlled trials.
Scientific effect measures
0 The medication is ineffective or harmful.
+ The effect of the medication is either not statistically or not clinically significant (i.e., less than the minimal clinically significant benefit).
++ The effect of the medication is statistically significant and exceeds the minimally clinically significant benefit.
+++ The effect is statistically significant and far exceeds the minimally clinically significant benefit.
Clinical impression of effect
0 Ineffective: most people get no improvement.
+ Somewhat effective: few people get clinically significant improvement.
++ Effective: some people get clinically significant improvement.
+++ Very effective: most people get clinically significant improvement.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Approved by the Quality Standards Subcommittee April 1, 2000. Approved by the Practice Committee May 3, 2000. Approved by the AAN Board of Directors June 9, 2000.
The Evidence-Based Guidelines for Migraine Headache were supported by: Abbott Laboratories, Astra Zeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Glaxo Wellcome, Merck, Pfizer, Ortho-McNeil, and the AAN Education & Research Foundation, along with the seven participant member organizations.
| References |
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