title: Inpatient Pediatric Migraine Treatment: Does Choice of Abortive Therapy Affect Length of Stay?
abstract: To describe the inpatient management of pediatric migraine and the association between specific medications and hospital length of stay (LOS).
  
  
  
  Historical cohort study review of patients age <19 years of age admitted to a single tertiary care children's hospital between 2010 and 2015 for treatment of migraine headache.
  
  
  
  The cohort consisted of 58 encounters with an average patient age of 14.3 years (SD 3.2 years) with a female predominance (62%). The mean number of inpatient medications received by patients was 3 (range 1-7), with dopamine antagonists and dihydroergotamine used most commonly (67% and 59% of encounters, respectively). The average LOS was 56 hours (95% CI 48.2-63.2) and did not vary by medication received, although patients who received an opioid had a significantly longer LOS (79.2 vs 47.9 hours respectively; P < .001).
  
  
  
  Children admitted to the hospital for treatment of migraine headache frequently require a large number of medications over an average hospital LOS of more than 2 days without apparent differences based on medication received other than prolonged stays for subjects who received opioids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR. Electronic address: sheridda@ohsu.edu.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Sheridan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Garth D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Meckler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004087:Dihydroergotamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D004087:Dihydroergotamine
keywords: child; headache; migraine; neurology; pain