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| The following article features coverage from Anesthesiology 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. Click here to read more of Clinical Pain Advisor‘s conference coverage. |
Frequent onabotulinumtoxinA injections during a 5-year period provide effective analgesic benefits in pediatric patients presenting with chronic migraine, according to a study presented at Anesthesiology 2017, held October 21-25, in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Most adults who [have] migraines have their first headache during childhood or adolescence,” wrote the investigators from the University of California Irvine Health in Orange.
“Despite experiencing significant disability, the vast majority of children who present to their physician with migraine headache do not receive prophylactic therapy.”
Investigators of this retrospective study sought to determine changes in migraine pain frequency, duration, and intensity among pediatric patients (n=10) receiving a total of 35 onabotulinumtoxinA injections for pain management.
There was a significant change in pain severity pre- and post-injection across the cohort, based on a 10-point numeric rating scale (6 vs 4, respectively; P =.007). Migraine frequency was lessened significantly after treatment compared with baseline levels, from 15.5 to 4.0 migraines per month (P <.001). The duration of migraine attacks was also reduced by the treatment (8.0 hours vs 0.75 hours; P =.028).
Researchers suggest that the injection itself may exert a slight placebo effect in this small cohort, which may limit the findings. “To verify that onabotulinumtoxinA is truly an effective modality for treating migraines in pediatric patients, prospective studies with a robust design should be performed to minimize cofounders,” concluded the investigators.
Read more of Clinical Pain Advisor‘s coverage of Anesthesiology 2017 by visiting the conference page.
Reference
Calderon M-D, Wu WD, Ma M, et al. A longitudinal evaluation of the effectiveness of Botox® in pediatric patients experiencing migraines: a five-year retrospective study. Presented at: Anesthesiology 2017; October 21-25, 2017; Boston, MA. Abstract A3082.
