The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the characteristics of
headache attacks, their impact on daily activities as well as the type and efficacy of acute medication in patients with
migraine. We included 281 patients with episodic
migraine (87% females, aged 41.2±12.1). All patients kept a
headache diary for 3 months covering
headache characteristics,
therapy and questions adopted from the
Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) for rating the impact of each single
headache attack (HIT-6s). For evaluating the efficacy of acute medication we compared
triptans with other compounds using
headache duration as outcome parameter. Of 6051
headache attacks 52.8% fulfilled the ICHD-II criteria of
migraine. The HIT-6s score was 2.4±2.2 (range 0-6). It was lowest in untreated
headaches (2.0±2.1) and highest in those treated with a combination of
triptans and other compounds (4.1±2.0, p<0.001). Patients used
triptans on 8.0% of all
headache days, other compounds on 33.1%, a combination of both on 1.5% and no medication on 57.3% of the
headache days.
Migraine attacks of moderate or severe intensity treated with
triptans alone lasted significantly shorter than those treated with other compounds (5.1±3.6 vs. 6.9±5.3h, p<0.001). In conclusion, almost 50% of the
headaches occurring in patients with
migraine do not fulfill
migraine criteria. Use of
triptans is associated with a shorter duration of moderate and severe
migraine attacks compared to use of other compounds.