The Need for Effective Treatments for Status Migrainosus: Matthew Robbins, MD

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes

“It’s a total evidence-free zone. Often when these patients come to the emergency room because the headache attack has been so long, that’s perceived as a red flag, and there’s a big focus on diagnosis. These are patients who are often getting CT scans of the head, or MRIs, and there is a wait to treat them until the neurologist arrives.”

Status migrainosus, a condition in which a headache attack lasts 72 hours or longer, has posed significant clinical challenges for physicians and has placed a severe burden on the large population of patients with migraine. Currently, little literature on effective treatment options exists, with many physicians opting for a variety of approaches that are adjusted based on the situation at hand.

At the 2022 American Headache Society (AHS) Annual Scientific Meeting, June 9-11, in Denver, Colorado, new data were presented on the incidence of status migrainosus in Olmsted County, Minnesota, by Juliana H. VanderPluym, MD,¹ in a session moderated by Matthew Robbins, MD. The study provided the first population-based perspective on this incidence, noting that it might be inherently more common among individuals with chronic migraine. Overall, the study showed an age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate of 26.60 per 100,000 (95% CI, 23.21-29.97), with a peak incidence occurring between ages 40 and 49 years. These rates were higher in women (46.97 per 100,000; 95% CI, 40.61-53.32) compared with men (6.23 per 100,000; 95% CI, 3.88-8.58).

To find out more about the state of care for status migrainosus, NeurologyLive^® inquired with Robbins, a neurologist and associate professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He highlighted the research of VanderPluym et al, and shared his experience with treating the condition, as well as detailed some of the difficulties in providing evidence-based care for patients who experience such debilitating attacks.

Click here for more coverage of AHS 2022.

REFERENCE
1. VanderPluym J, Mangipudi K, Mbonde A, et al.Incidence of status migrainosus in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States: Characterization and predictors of recurrence. Presented at: AHS Annual Scientific Meeting; June 9-11, 2022; Denver, CO. OR-17