Acute Treatment Comparison of Primary Headache Patients Admitted to Emergency Department: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Year 2020, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 8 - 13, 15.07.2020

Erdal Tekin Mehmet Nuri Koçak Kamber Kaşali Atıf Bayramoğlu

Abstract

Headaches are frequent and recurrent causes of emergency department visits. This study aims to compare the efficacy of analgesic and non-analgesic treatment protocols in the acute treatment of adult primary headache patients admitted to the emergency department. This study was a non-inferiority trial of oxygen therapy in primary headache, conducted as prospective cross-sectional research in the emergency department of a tertiary university hospital. The pain scales of the patients on admission and at the end of treatment were measured twice by Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale. The treatment effectiveness between the groups was compared statistically. A total of 215 patients were included in the study. The numbers of patients in groups were 68 patients (31.6%) in the group of intravenous metoclopramide HCl, 67 patients (31.2%) with nasal oxygen, and 80 patients (37.2%) with intravenous paracetamol treatment groups. Paracetamol, metoclopramide, and oxygen therapy were found similarly effective in primary headache treatments. Oxygen therapy should be recommended as the first-line treatment option, because, it has no known side effects, can be repeated if necessary and as effective as the paracetamol and metoclopramide.

Keywords

Primary Headache, Oxygen Therapy, Non-Inferiority Trial, Paracetamol, Metoclopramide, Emergency Department

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