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Almotriptan in triptan-naïve patients: new evidence of benefits

Pascual J

Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache, 2008

342 participants

Abstract

Although triptans represent the standard of care for migraine that is severe, disabling and/or suboptimally responsive to migraine non-specific analgesia, they are often underused in clinical practice. Simple analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may provide effective treatment in some patients, but it is an inadequate response to these drugs that drives the therapeutic progression to triptans at the end of the traditional 'step-care' approach. However, there are several disadvantages to this approach. It may cause patients to lose confidence in their physician during this hierarchical 'trial-and-error' search for optimal treatment when prescribed medications are ineffective, leading them to cease consulting before triptans are tried. It may also result in a protracted time interval of suboptimal treatment, with unnecessary suffering in patients who are triptan candidates. The alternative approach of 'stratified care', in which medication is prescribed according to the severity of symptoms, enables triptans to be used earlier in the treatment plan, especially when triptan candidates are given a choice between simple analgesic/NSAID and triptan medication from the start. This raises the question about the efficacy of triptans in triptan-naïve (TN) patients. A recent exploratory post-hoc analysis compared the effect of almotriptan 12.5 mg in TN patients (n = 342) with that in triptan-experienced patients (n = 237). Almotriptan was effective in both…

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