title: Oral dihydroergotamine for therapy-resistant migraine attacks in children.
abstract: Twelve children with migraine symptoms that did not respond to conventional analgesics completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study of two doses of oral dihydroergotamine (DHE) for acute treatment. The primary endpoint was reduction of headache by > or = 2 grades on a 5-grade scale at 2 hours. After DHE, 7 of the 12 children reached the primary endpoint, and 2 reached the primary endpoint after placebo [difference 42%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 14%-70%]. Five of the 7 were pain-free after DHE (3 with 20 micrograms/kg; 2 with 40 micrograms/kg); none was pain-free after placebo. Headache recurred in 2 of the 5. Although headache recurrence limits the efficacy of oral DHE, it may be useful in the acute treatment of migraine in selected children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hämäläinen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoppu
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Santavuori
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004087:Dihydroergotamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019233:Retreatment; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D004087:Dihydroergotamine