Frovatriptan may prevent headache after lumbar puncture

Last Updated: 2007-08-24 17:38:03 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Frovatriptan, used in the treatment and prophylaxis of migraine headache, may also be of use in preventing post-dural puncture headache (PDPH), according to Italian researchers.

In the July issue of Cephalalgia, Dr. Gennaro Bussone of Istituto Nazionale Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan and colleagues note that PDPH is associated with loss of CSF following dural puncture and subsequent shifts in cranial contents.

Depending on factors such as age and the type of needle employed, PDPH may be experienced by as many as 40% of patients undergoing diagnostic lumbar puncture.

To investigate whether frovatriptan might be useful in the prevention of such headaches, the researchers conducted a non-randomized, open-label pilot study of 50 inpatients scheduled for diagnostic lumbar puncture.

They were given 2.5 mg of frovatriptan for 5 days after the procedure. In all, only 7 of patients (14%) had PDPH and symptoms were mild. Most episodes occurred in the first few days.

The researchers concede that use of an atraumatic needle by itself would have reduced the incidence of PDPH. Nevertheless, they conclude, their findings suggest frovatriptan can be effective, and this should be tested in a randomized, controlled, double-blind study.

Cephalalgia 2007;27:809-813.