title: Management of the acute migraine headache.
abstract: As many as 30 million Americans have migraine headaches. The impact on patients and their families can be tremendous, and treatment of migraines can present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for family physicians. Abortive treatment options include nonspecific and migraine-specific therapy. Nonspecific therapies include analgesics (aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and opiates), adjunctive therapies (antiemetics and sedatives), and other nonspecific medications (intranasal lidocaine or steroids). Migraine-specific abortive therapies include ergotamine and its derivatives, and triptans. Complementary and alternative therapies can also be used to abort the headache or enhance the efficacy of another therapeutic modality. Treatment choices for acute migraine should be based on headache severity, migraine frequency, associated symptoms, and comorbidities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, Columbus, Ohio 43201, USA. aukerman-1@medctr.osu.edu
authors.forename: Glen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aukerman
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Knutson
authors.forename: William F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Miser
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000932:Antiemetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000932:Antiemetics; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists