Treatment in the emergency department

Handb Clin Neurol. 2024:199:245-256. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-823357-3.00005-7.

Abstract

As a common headache disorder, migraine is also a common cause for emergency department (ED) visiting, which leads to tremendous medical and economic burden. The goals of migraine management in ED are resolving headache and migraine-related most bothersome symptoms rapidly, preventing ED revisiting due to headache relapse, and referring patients at risk, e.g., patients with chronic migraine and/or medication-overuse headache, to specialists. In this chapter, we elucidated the algorithm which was particularly adapted to ED settings for the diagnosis and treatment of migraine. We reviewed a plentiful amount of high-quality clinical trials, especially those conducted in populations derived from ED, to provide readers insights into the optimized treatment options for migraine in ED.

Keywords: Acute abortive treatment; Antidopaminergic; Calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibodies; Diagnostic algorithm; Most bothersome symptoms.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Emergency Service, Hospital
  • Headache / drug therapy
  • Headache Disorders*
  • Humans
  • Migraine Disorders* / diagnosis
  • Migraine Disorders* / therapy