Chronic Headache Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
Acupuncture, Migraine, Tension-type headache
Brief summary
Headache disorders (HDs), which are characterized by recurrent headache, constitute a public-health problem of enormous proportions, with an impact on both the individual sufferer and society. The stated goals of long-term headache treatment are to reduce the frequency, severity, and disability associated with acute attacks; decrease the reliance on poorly tolerated, ineffective, or unwanted acute pharmacotherapies; and avoid acute headache medication escalation. There is risk for adverse events, leading some patients to refuse prophylactic therapy. Acupuncture is widely used for the treatment of headaches and it may be applied as a single modality as well as part of a more complex treatment program. The objective of this study will be to investigate whether acupuncture in routine clinical practice ((Real World Data) is more effective than treatment of acute migraine attacks or routine care only in reducing headache frequency.
Detailed description
A Cochrane systematic review published in 2016 concluded that acupuncture was at least as effective as, or possibly more effective than, preventive drug treatment for migraine prophylaxis with fewer side effects compared with conventional treatments . Cochrane reviews of tension-type headache conclude that acupuncture could be a valuable non-pharmacological tool in patients with frequent, episodic, and chronic tension-type headache. An observational, cross-sectional study, according to the STROBE guide, was conducted. The study was carried out in the Pain Service Unit of the Son Llàtzer University Hospital of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Between January 2010 and December 2015, data from patients with chronic refractory headache, which did not respond to conventional treatment for at least 6 months, referred to the Pain Service Unit were examined to ascertain their eligibility.
Interventions
DEVICEElectroacupuncture
Needles on the extremities were stimulated by electro-stimulation device applied by a biphasic pulse generator apparatus at a frequency of pulses alternated between 2 Hz and 100 Hz and the maximum tolerable intensity.
Sponsors
Hospital Son Llatzer
Study design
Observational model
CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective
RETROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Clinical diagnosis of headache (\> 12 months) and at least two headaches per month (Physicians classified patients according to the criteria of the International Headache Society to differentiate between patients with, tension-type headache, trigeminal autonomic cephalgias (cluster headache and Horton's headache), trigeminal neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, cervicogenic headache and post-surgery headache). * Age ≥ 18 years.
Exclusion criteria
* Headache caused by somatic diseases such as hypertension, meningioma or meningoencephalitis * Onset of headache less than 1-year before. * acupuncture treatment less than 1-year before
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of days with headache per month | At the end of the third month of treatment | Because the improvements observed were essentially proportional to the headache at study entry, we also calculated the percent reduction of headache days for each patient. Treatment responders were also calculated: a patient with a reduction of ≥ 50% was considered to be a treatment responder. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain | at baseline, 1 month and 3-months | a continuous scale comprised of a horizontal line, anchored by no pain (score of 0) and worst imaginable pain (score of 100 \[100-mm scale\]). (VAS pain intensity score) |
| The change of headache days after 1 month | at baseline, 1 month and 3-months | Number of headache days per month |
| Assessment of satisfaction with treatment | at baseline, 1 month and 3-months | ranging from 10 (extremely Satisfied) to 0 (extremely dissatisfied) |
| Sleep quality assessment | at baseline, 1 month and 3-months | ranging from 10 (good quality) to 0 (poor quality) |
Countries
Spain
Outcome results
None listed