Table 3.
Migraine treatment characteristics
| Treatment, n (%) | TIRs (n = 483) |
TRs (n = 930) |
All (n = 1413) |
p-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triptan prescribedb,c | ||||
| Sumatriptan | 194 (40.2) | 435 (46.8) | 629 (44.5) | 0.018 |
| Sumatriptan + naproxen | 24 (5.0) | 55 (5.9) | 79 (5.6) | 0.463 |
| Rizatriptan | 85 (17.6) | 157 (16.9) | 242 (17.1) | 0.734 |
| Zolmitriptan | 82 (17.0) | 147 (15.8) | 229 (16.2) | 0.571 |
| Almotriptan | 19 (3.9) | 57 (6.1) | 76 (5.4) | 0.083 |
| Eletriptan | 33 (6.8) | 42 (4.5) | 75 (5.3) | 0.065 |
| Naratriptan | 34 (7.0) | 27 (2.9) | 61 (4.3) | < 0.001 |
| Frovatriptan | 18 (3.7) | 11 (1.2) | 29 (2.1) | 0.001 |
| No. of unique triptans ever used, n (%)b | < 0.001 | |||
| 1 | 389 (80.5) | 824 (88.6) | 1213 (85.8) | |
| 2 | 80 (16.6) | 98 (10.5) | 178 (12.6) | |
| 3+ | 14 (2.9) | 8 (0.9) | 22 (1.6) | |
| Timing of acute medication used | < 0.001 | |||
| At the first sign of a migraine attack (premonitory phase; before pain starts) | 276 (58.2) | 641 (70.5) | 917 (66.3) | |
| When the pain starts | 162 (34.2) | 238 (26.2) | 400 (28.9) | |
| After the pain has started and severity is known | 36 (7.6) | 30 (3.3) | 66 (4.8) | |
| Current use of OTC migraine medicationd | 100 (21.8) | 140 (15.6) | 240 (17.7) | 0.005 |
| Mean amount spent in last month on OTC products, $ (SD)e | 12.78 (17.55) | 10.54 (9.34) | 11.42 (13.21) | 0.294 |
| Reason for OTC used | ||||
| Prescribed medication not effective enough | 47 (50.5) | 37 (29.1) | 84 (38.2) | 0.001 |
| My doctor recommended it | 22 (23.7) | 47 (37.0) | 69 (31.4) | 0.035 |
| I run out of my prescribed medication | 20 (21.5) | 14 (11.0) | 34 (15.5) | 0.034 |
| Prescribed medication is too expensive | 9 (9.7) | 11 (8.7) | 20 (9.1) | 0.796 |
| Current use of preventive medicationb | 262 (54.2) | 390 (41.9) | 652 (46.1) | < 0.001 |
| Anticonvulsants | 102 (21.1) | 106 (11.4) | 208 (14.7) | < 0.001 |
| Antidepressants/anxiolytics/benzodiazepines | 48 (9.9) | 70 (7.5) | 118 (8.4) | 0.120 |
| Antimigraine | 8 (1.7) | 8 (0.9) | 16 (1.1) | 0.180 |
| Beta blockers | 89 (18.4) | 159 (17.1) | 248 (17.6) | 0.533 |
| Calcium antagonists | 14 (2.9) | 36 (3.9) | 50 (3.5) | 0.348 |
| NSAIDS, including combinations | 4 (0.8) | 7 (0.8) | 11 (0.8) | 1.000 |
| Others | 16 (3.3) | 19 (2.0) | 35 (2.5) | 0.145 |
| History of opioid misuse, n (%)b | 19 (3.9) | 20 (2.2) | 39 (2.8) | 0.019 |
aP-values from test of two group difference: t-test for continuous variables and chi-square for categorical variables. bPhysician reported. cPatients could be receiving more than one triptan, but no other acute medication type. dPatient reported. eAverage currency exchange rate at year 2017 was used to convert to US dollar amounts. Website referred to: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/yearly-average-currency-exchange rates
NSAID nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; OTC over-the-counter; TIR triptan insufficient responder; TR triptan responder