Premium
Prognosis Following Discontinuation of OnabotulinumA Therapy in “Super‐responding” Chronic Migraine Patients
Author(s) -
Ching Jason,
Tinsley Amanda,
Rothrock John
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/head.13630
Subject(s) - discontinuation , medicine , migraine , cohort , incidence (geometry) , prospective cohort study , pediatrics , surgery , physics , optics
Objective To determine whether the successful treatment of chronic migraine (CM) with onabotulinumA (BotoxA) may be followed by a continued respite from headache once therapy has been discontinued. Background The optimal duration of prophylactic therapy for migraine generally and for CM treated with BotoxA specifically is unknown. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study evaluating a series of patients with CM at a university‐affiliated headache subspecialty clinic in Reno, Nevada, all of whom were treated according to a uniform protocol involving serial injections of BotoxA. We followed all positively responding patients who met our stopping rule for a minimum of 6 months after discontinuation of BotoxA, and we assessed the incidence of clinical worsening in that group. Results A total of 105/131 patients (80%) for whom complete follow‐up was available reported no clinical worsening or need to resume prophylactic therapy over the 6 months following discontinuation of BotoxA therapy. Patients with pre‐treatment baseline chronic daily headache (CDH) of greater than 6 months duration were more likely to report clinical deterioration within 6 months of stopping treatment, as compared to patients with CDH of less than 6 months. A greater number of BotoxA treatments required to achieve our stopping rule correlated with clinical deterioration within 6 months of stopping treatment. Conclusions In many CM patients who experience an especially positive response to serial BotoxA injection therapy, clinical improvement may be sustained for a period of at least 6 months following discontinuation of prophylactic therapy.