Butalbital and pediatric headache: stay off the downward path

Despite limited evidence from the literature surrounding safety or efficacy, butalbital-containing medicines (BCMs) have maintained their rank as "go-to" prescribed migraine and headache relief drugs in the United States, despite bans on these barbiturates in Germany and other European countries. Providers at the Pediatric Headache Program at Boston Children's Hospital recommend that clinicians prescribe triptan-based medications instead of BCMs, given the known negative side effects of BCMs on the general population, and the uncertain longitudinal trajectory of BCMs on developing brains.