Migraineurs Initially Visiting the Gastroenterology Department

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Migraine commonly causes nausea and vomiting alongside severe headaches.
• Some patients present with primary gastrointestinal (GI) complaints, masking potential migraine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distinct characteristics and clinical outcomes of migraine patients presenting with primary GI symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective case-control study (April 2012-December 2013) using a headache registry.
• Case subjects: patients with initial GI complaints referred for headache evaluation.
• Controls: migraine patients matched by propensity scores.

Main Results:

• 80.4% of case subjects met migraine criteria.
• Case subjects showed inverse association with family history of headache, alcohol use, and physical activity aggravation.
• No significant difference in favorable clinical outcomes between case and control groups (82.2% vs 79.1%).

Conclusions:

• Migraine management effectively relieved both GI symptoms and headache in patients with primary GI complaints.
• Physicians should consider migraine in patients presenting with prominent GI symptoms and concurrent headache.