Oral Medications for the Management of Acute Migraine Headache in the Emergency Department
- Conditions
- Acute Migraine Headache
- Interventions
- Registration Number
- NCT05983354
- Lead Sponsor
- Health Sciences North Research Institute
- Brief Summary
The goal of this pilot randomized control trial is to assess the feasibility of our patient recruitment and data collection strategy ahead of a full scale RCT investigating the efficacy of oral v. parenteral medications in the management of acute migraine headaches in the emergency department. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either (A) standard medical therapy for the treatment of acute migraine headache (metoclopramide and ketorolac IV) and oral placebo or (B) oral metoclopramide and ibuprofen with normal saline IV. Primary outcome measures are recruitment rate and improvement in pain score at 60 minutes from medication administration.
- Detailed Description
Objectives
The planned study is a pilot study designed to assess the feasibility of our recruitment and data collection strategy. The primary feasibility outcome will be recruitment rate, which is defined as the proportion of eligible patients approached who are successfully recruited over the proposed 6-month pilot study period. Our secondary feasibility outcomes are (a) proportion of eligible patients approached and (b) rate of attrition during the study period.
Our preliminary primary outcome will be improvement in pain from baseline to 60 minutes after medication administration using the visual analogue scale (Bijur et al. 2008). Preliminary secondary outcomes will include headache relief and freedom from headache at 2 h, the need for rescue medication, ED length of stay and return to ED within 24h of discharge. The frequency of adverse effects, including gastrointestinal upset, patient-reported restlessness or dystonic reaction and fatigue, will be assessed.
Design
In this parallel, noninferiority, double-blind randomised control pilot study, eligible patients presenting to the emergency department with a chief complaint of headache will be randomly assigned with an allocation ratio of 1:1 to receive one of 2 treatments: intravenous ketorolac (10 mg) and metoclopramide (10 mg) v. oral ibuprofen (400 mg) and metoclopramide (10 mg). Dosing was selected to reflect the lowest effective doses recommended for emergency department management of migraine headaches (Friedman et al. 2011, Motov et al. 2017). The study will last 6 months at which time it will stop.
Study population
Patients between the ages of 18 and 64 presenting to the ED with a chief complaint of headache will be eligible to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria include vomiting or inability to tolerate oral medications at the time of medication administration, focal neurologic symptoms, head trauma within 14 days, history of renal disease, contraindication to NSAIDs including pregnancy or concurrent use of blood thinners, hypersensitivity reaction to any of the study medications, or \>15 headache days per month.
Study procedures
Treatment will be assigned using a random number generator. Contents of treatment, which will be identical in appearance, will be known only to the research pharmacist and this information will be stored remotely from the ED. Administering nurses and treating physicians will be blind to the treatment group, as will patients and research assistants collecting outcome data.
Data collection
Data will be collected using patient interviews immediately prior to medication administration and repeated at 1 and 2 hours after medication administration. A chart review will then be conducted to check for return visits within 24 h of ED discharge.
Enrolment:
Based on sample size calculations, 55 patients will be enrolled.
Statistical procedures:
Primary and secondary feasibility outcomes will be reported as the proportion of patients approached who were recruited, proportion of eligible patients approached and the proportion who withdrew consent during the study period +/- 95% CI.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- NOT_YET_RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 55
- Presentation to emergency department with headache
- Vomiting or unable to tolerate PO at tie of med admin
- Focal neurologic symptoms
- Head trauma within 14d
- Pregnancy
- Concurrent use of blood thinners
- Hypersensitivity reaction to any of the study medications
- >14 HA days per month
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description IV medications Intravenous metoclopramide and ketorolac 2 x placebo tablets, 10 mg metoclopramide in 50 cc NS and 10 mg ketorolac in 50 ml NS administered over 15 min. Oral medications Oral metoclopramide and ibuprofen 10 mg oral metoclopramide, 400 mg oral ibuprofen with 2 x 50 ml NS administered over 15 minutes.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Recruitment rate 6 months Proportion of eligible patients presenting to ED who are successfully recruited
Pain relief 60 minutes Change in visual analogue scale (0-10 where 0 is no pain and 10 is maximal pain) from baseline to 60 minutes after medication administration
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Proportion of eligible patients approached 6 months Proportion of all eligible patients who were approached by research assistants
Rate of attrition during the study period 24 hours Number of patients recruited to study who ended participation during study period
Pain relief at 2 hours 120 minutes Change in visual analogue scale from baseline to 120 minutes after medication administration
Need for rescue medication 24 h Additional medications administered by treating physician after 60 minutes
Freedom from headache 60 minutes Patients who report complete resolution of headache at 60 minutes from medication administration
Emergency department length of stay 24 hours Time from initial physician assessment to discharge
Adverse reactions 24 hours Any adverse reaction reported during the study period
Return to emergency department 24 hours Patients who were registered again to the ED within 24 hours of discharge