[Treatment of prolonged migraine attack (status migrenosus)]

Ville Artto1, Mikko Kallela

  • 1HYKS, neurologian klinikka.

Duodecim; Laaketieteellinen Aikakauskirja
|September 14, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Status migrainosus (SM) is a migraine attack lasting over 72 hours, often caused by excessive medication use. Effective treatment involves excluding severe causes, using specific medications, and managing medication overuse headache for better long-term outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Pharmacology

Context:

  • Status migrainosus (SM) is defined as a debilitating migraine attack exceeding 72 hours.
  • Prolonged and excessive use of anti-migraine medications is a primary contributing factor to SM.
  • Exclusion of severe underlying causes is a critical prerequisite for initiating SM treatment.

Purpose:

  • To outline the key diagnostic considerations and therapeutic strategies for managing status migrainosus.
  • To emphasize the importance of addressing medication overuse headache in the long-term prognosis of SM.

Summary:

  • Pharmacological management of SM includes parenteral anti-inflammatory drugs, triptans, valproate, and dopamine antagonists.
  • Long-term prognosis is significantly improved by recognizing and treating associated medication overuse headache.

Impact:

  • Provides a concise overview of SM management for clinicians.
  • Highlights the crucial role of addressing medication overuse in preventing chronic migraine conditions.

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