While evidence-based guidelines are fine-tuning a safe, effective approach to acute migraine care, it appears many younger patients are not receiving the care they need for their migraine attacks.
Nearly half of pediatric patients did not receive any treatment for their migraines, and a vast majority of children did not receive evidence-based prescriptions or recommendations, according to the results of a multi-state retrospective study.
The trend appears especially apparent in urban health care centers and emergency department (ED) facilities, where patients seem less likely to receive proper evidence-based treatments or receive any treatment at all.
“This is not just a pediatric problem, we actually know from a number studies over the last 20 years that headache is an underdiagnosed condition,” Robert A. Nicholson, PhD, LCP, FAHS, from the Mercy Clinic Headache Center & Mercy Health Research in St. Louis, Missouri, told Practical Pain Management.
When a patient presents with migraine, evidence-based guidelines typically recommend some form of abortive treatment, such as triptans or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). However, many patients do not receive any of these treatments, and this appears to be the case for younger patients as well.
“This study does point out that, for adults and children, migraine and headache tends to be undertreated. The fact that many patients, young and older, are sent home with no specific migraine treatment is discouraging, but not surprising,” said Lawrence Robbins, MD, a headache specialist practicing in Riverbrooks, Illinois.
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