Migraine Treatment Guidelines

Despite the availability of migraine-specific medications such as the triptans, which are effective and well tolerated for the acute treatment of migraine, many migraineurs lapse from physician care before being prescribed an effective treatment. Indeed, the majority of patients who consult a physician about their headaches only do so on a single occasion. Patients default from care for a number of reasons, including a lack of consultation time, lack of professional knowledge about their condition, and a feeling that physicians do not take their condition seriously.

Two organisations have developed rational, evidence-based guidelines for migraine that are designed for use in daily clinical practice. These guidelines set standards for the management of patients with migraine from screening and diagnosis through to follow-up.

• Headache Care for Practising Physicians (HCPC) guidelines
• US Headache Consortium guidelines