Prospective analysis of the use of OnabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX) in the treatment of chronic migraine; real-life data in 254 patients from Hull, U.K.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Chronic migraine affects 2% of the population. It results in substantial disability and reduced quality of life. Medications used for prophylaxis in episodic migraine may also work in chronic migraine. The efficacy and safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX) in adults with chronic migraine was confirmed in the PREEMPT programme. However, there are few real-life data of its use.

METHOD:

254 adults with chronic migraine were injected with OnabotulinumtoxinA BOTOX as per PREEMPT Protocol between July 2010 and May 2013, their headache data were collected using the Hull headache diary and analysed to look for headache, migraine days decrements, crystal clear days increment in the month post treatment, we looked at the 50% responder rate as well.

RESULTS:

Our prospective analysis shows that OnabotulinumtoxinA, significantly, reduced the number of headache and migraine days, and increased the number of headache free days. OnabotulinumtoxinA Botox also improved patients' quality of life. We believe that these results represent the largest post-marketing cohort of patients treated with OnabotulinumtoxinA in the real-life clinical setting.

CONCLUSION:

OnabotulinumtoxinA is a valuable addition to current treatment options in patients with chronic migraine. Our results support findings of PREEMPT study in a large cohort of patients, we believe, is representative of the patients seen in an average tertiary headache centre. While it can be used as a first line prophylaxis its cost may restrict its use to more refractory patients who failed three oral preventive treatments.

• Authors: Modar Khalil, Hassan W Zafar, Victoria Quarshie, Fayyaz Ahmed
• Journal: The journal of headache and pain (J Headache Pain) Vol. 15 Pg. 54 (Sep 01 2014) ISSN: 1129-2377 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 25178393 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Analgesics
• Botulinum Toxins, Type A

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Analgesics (therapeutic use)
• Botulinum Toxins, Type A (therapeutic use)
• Chronic Disease
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Migraine Disorders (drug therapy)
• Prospective Studies
• Quality of Life
• Treatment Outcome
• Young Adult