title: Side effects of ergotamine.
abstract: Ergotamine has been used for many years in the treatment of migraine, although there is little formal clinical evidence that it is significantly more efficacious than placebo. A number of side effects associated with ergotamine have been reported in the literature, including myocardial infarction, ischaemia of limb extremities, and fibrotic changes. Long-term use has led to reported cases of ergotamine-induced headache, vascular reactivity, and subclinical ergotism. When the safety profile of this drug is considered, coupled with its debatable efficacy from a clinical review previously published, the resulting poor risk:benefit ratio brings into question the continued use of ergotamine as a migraine treatment and calls for better controlled trials of its efficacy, or lack of, in the acute treatment of migraine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital, Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Meyler
mesh_terms: D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004878:Ergotamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004881:Ergotism / Q000209:etiology*; D005121:Extremities / Q000098:blood supply; D006261:Headache / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000139:chemically induced; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000139:chemically induced; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004878:Ergotamine