Caffeine has a long profile of use as an adjuvant therapy for headache and migraine. This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of intravenous caffeine citrate for patients with acute migraine headache.
Methods:
In this single arm study, 61 patients were enrolled who were diagnosed with migraine according to International Headache Society criteria. Patients received 60 mg caffeine citrate intravenously (i.v.) in about 10 min. Visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores were measured on baseline and 1 h and 2 h after caffeine infusion.
Results:
The improvement in VAS pain score was >3 point change from baseline to 1 h after i.v. infusion (p<0.001) and >5 point change from baseline to 2 h after i.v. infusion (p<0.001). Patients who received other medication before caffeine i.v. infusion did not show better improvement after 1 h (p=0.304) or 2 h (p=0.926) compared with other patients.
Conclusions:
Infusion of 60 mg caffeine citrate i.v. is safe and well tolerated. It achieved therapeutic success for patients with acute migraine headache after 1 and 2 h. Further controlled studies are recommended.
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