Polypharmacy Among Headache Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

CNS Drugs
Anna FerrariCecilia Rustichelli

Abstract

Polypharmacy can appropriately treat multiple chronic conditions, but it can also increase potential harm. Polypharmacy information for primary headaches is minimal, despite drugs being the main tools to manage headaches. The aim was to evaluate the prevalence, characteristics and risk factors of polypharmacy in patients with primary headaches and examine whether these variables differ between episodic and chronic headache patients. We analysed polypharmacy (simultaneous use of five or more medications), medication type, comorbidity, and risk factors in 300 patients (mean age 42.81 ± 13.21 years) with primary headaches, divided into episodic and chronic, afferent to a headache centre. Patients took an average of 4.37 medications. Polypharmacy was common in 40.7% of patients, and among chronic patients, it reached 58.8%. Most patients used medications (mainly nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; 73.5%) to treat acute headaches, and 30.4% of episodic and 64.7% of chronic sufferers underwent prophylactic treatment (P < 0.0001), mostly using antidepressants (77.3%). Up to 76.7% of the cohort was taking other medications, primarily for acid-related disorders (21.7%). Comorbidities were present in 59.7% of the cohort. Variables sign...Continue Reading

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Citations

Nov 8, 2018·Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy·Martina CurtoLuana Lionetto
Oct 23, 2019·Pharmacogenomics·Marina BorroGiovanna Gentile
May 19, 2019·The Journal of Headache and Pain·Leda Marina PomesPaolo Martelletti
Jun 22, 2018·CNS Drugs·Leda Marina PomesPaolo Martelletti
Dec 11, 2020·Neurology. Clinical Practice·Virginia Baker, Nawaz Hack
Feb 21, 2021·Clinical Therapeutics·Anna Ferrari, Cecilia Rustichelli
Sep 15, 2021·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·Alexandre Valotta da Silva

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