Large-scale screening and subsequent effects of migraine treatment on the work floor in the Netherlands.
In a large retail business group the ID Migraine Screening Test was sent to employees with three or more absences from work in the past year (n = 2893). Employees with positive results were invited for a neurological consultation and migraine patients were randomly assigned to: first attack 'treated as usual' and the second attack treated with 40 mg eletriptan, or reversed order. Of the 2893 employees, 799 responded (28%), 260 were positively screened for migraine (33%), 84 patients were diagnosed by a neurologist and 41 of the 75 included patients completed the protocol. Eletriptan induced pain-free response in 33.3% of the patients at 4 h compared with 0% after 'non-specific' treatment (P = 0.03). Eletriptan also significantly improved quality of life, but differences in absence from work and productivity loss could not be detected. In conclusion, in-company screening can be beneficial for undertreated employees, but implementation obstacles can reduce the effectiveness of screening.
Mérelle
S Y M
SY
Department of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Couturier
E G M
EG
van Bokhorst
J
J
Busschbach
J J V
JJ
Passchier
J
J
D000328:Adult; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004526:Efficiency / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011788:Quality of Life; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014363:Tryptamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D011759:Pyrrolidines; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; D014363:Tryptamines; C115647:eletriptan