Intravenous Lignocaine for Acute Migraine

IV Lignocaine for Acute Migraine: A Pilot Study Evaluating Efficacy in the Emergency Department

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Phase 3

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12625001072404

Enrollment

Registered

2025-10-01

Start date

2026-06-13

Completion date

2027-07-04

Last updated

2026-08-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This study is testing whether intravenous (IV) lignocaine, a medicine normally used as a local anaesthetic, can help relieve severe migraine attacks in the Emergency Department. Adults who come to hospital with migraine that has not improved with their usual treatments may be invited to take part. Participants will receive lignocaine through a drip over one hour, together with a routine medicine called dexamethasone, and their pain and side effects will be closely monitored. If the migraine does not improve after two hours, standard treatments will still be provided. The aim of this pilot study is to see if IV lignocaine is safe, practical to use, and shows early signs of effectiveness, so that larger studies can be planned.

Interventions

Medications will be administered by the nurse involved in the patients care. Total dose, timing and any side effects will be documented in the case report form. Intravenous lignocaine 1.5mg/kg (maximum 150mg) over 3-5 minutes followed by 10mg iv dexamethasone then lignocaine 1mg/kg in 1L 0.9% saline over 60 minutes.

Study design

Allocation

Non-randomised trial

Intervention model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Adults aged greater then or equal to 18 years Presenting to the emergency department with a migraine not responding to the patient’s usual analgesic choice Patients previously enrolled are eligible for repeat inclusion if they present with a separate episode of migraine unrelated to the previously treated migraine

Exclusion criteria

Suspected secondary headache Thunderclap headache Presence of fever Neurological deficits Altered mental status First presentation of headache in a patient aged >50 years Symptoms suggestive of temporal arteritis Signs of meningeal irritation Post-traumatic headache Pregnancy Inability or unwillingness to provide informed consent Known allergy to lignocaine

Outcome results