Establishment of an Italian chronic migraine database: a multicenter pilot study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Research
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Chronic migraine (CM) requires optimized ascertainment and phenotype definition for effective management.
• Current healthcare procedures and resource allocation for CM need rationalization.
• Developing a comprehensive Italian CM registry is a crucial step towards addressing these needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an exploratory multicenter pilot study for establishing a CM database.
• To gather detailed patient data for future CM registry development.
• To identify key characteristics of CM patients for improved clinical and economic strategies.

Main Methods:

• Enrolled 63 consecutive CM patients across four tertiary headache centers.
• Utilized face-to-face interviews with a dedicated semi-structured questionnaire.
• Collected data on lifestyle, socio-demographics, comorbidities, migraine features, and healthcare resource use.

Main Results:

• Identified peripheral trigeminal sensitization in most CM patients, suggesting potential for endophenotype discovery.
• Observed frequent emergency department admissions and unnecessary investigations among CM patients.
• Noted infrequent access to illness benefit exemption or disability allowance for CM patients.

Conclusions:

• The pilot study provides valuable insights into CM patient characteristics and healthcare utilization.
• Expansion of the CM database to include more centers will refine endophenotype definition.
• Improved understanding will enhance CM management, treatment, and economic resource allocation, reducing patient and health system burden.