Inpatient Pediatric Migraine Treatment: Does Choice of Abortive Therapy Affect Length of Stay?

OBJECTIVE: To describe the inpatient management of pediatric migraine and the association between specific medications and hospital length of stay (LOS).

STUDY DESIGN: Historical cohort study review of patients age <19 years of age admitted to a single tertiary care children's hospital between 2010 and 2015 for treatment of migraine headache.

RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 58 encounters with an average patient age of 14.3 years (SD 3.2 years) with a female predominance (62%). The mean number of inpatient medications received by patients was 3 (range 1-7), with dopamine antagonists and dihydroergotamine used most commonly (67% and 59% of encounters, respectively). The average LOS was 56 hours (95% CI 48.2-63.2) and did not vary by medication received, although patients who received an opioid had a significantly longer LOS (79.2 vs 47.9 hours respectively; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: Children admitted to the hospital for treatment of migraine headache frequently require a large number of medications over an average hospital LOS of more than 2 days without apparent differences based on medication received other than prolonged stays for subjects who received opioids.