Rizatriptan is a 5HT (IB/ID) agonist with proven efficacy in the acute treatment of
migraine headache. We performed a systematic review of the literature for clinical trials of
rizatriptan incorporating important patient outcomes including consistency of response, preference, satisfaction, and quality of life. We found evidence that
rizatriptan provides consistent relief of
migraine attacks and that patients prefer
rizatriptan over other treatments because of its speed of relief. Patient satisfaction with
rizatriptan is significantly higher than placebo, but appears equivalent to most other
triptans.
Migraine-specific quality of life at 24 hours is significantly better in patients treated with
rizatriptan compared to placebo, while overall long-term quality of life is less affected. The published clinical trials included in this systematic review are subject to bias due to the open-label nature of preference trials and the doses chosen for comparison in head-to-head trials.