Table 5.
Prescribed acute and emergency medications for patients with migraine in the German Company Sickness Fund Database 2016
| Acute medication | Percentage of all prescriptions for acute medications |
|---|---|
| Anti-emeticsa | 4.5% |
| Metoclopramide | 3.7% |
| Analgesics/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugsb | 74.2% |
| Ibuprofen | 23.7% |
| Metamizole | 19.7% |
| Opioids | 19.1% |
| Diclofenac | 7.9% |
| Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (‘coxibs’) | 2.5% |
| Naproxen | 1.1% |
| Selective serotonin (5-HT1) agonists (triptans)c | 21.2% |
| Sumatriptand (all administration routes) | 12.3% |
| Rizatriptan | 4.7% |
| Zolmitriptane (all administration routes) | 2.6% |
| Emergency medicationf | Percentage of all prescriptions for emergency medications |
| Dexamethasone | 51.3% |
| Prednisone | 25.4% |
| Sumatriptan (subcutaneous) | 13.9% |
| Metamizole (intravenous) | 7.9% |
| Acetylsalicylic acid (intravenous) | 1.2% |
Subcutaneous sumatriptan is considered both an acute and emergency medication according to the German guideline for migraine so all identified subcutaneous sumatriptan prescriptions were included as both acute and emergency medications
aAlso includes dimenhydrinate (0.10% of acute prescriptions) and domperidone (0.66%)
bAlso includes acetylsalicylic acid (0.04% of acute prescriptions), paracetamol (0.10%), ergotamine (0.05%), ketoprofen (0.03%), dexketoprofen (0.20%) and other analgesics (0.92%)
cAlso includes eleptriptan (0.18% of acute prescriptions), almotriptan (0.06%), naratriptan (0.99%) and frovatriptan (0.38%)
dIncludes sumatriptan oral (11.8% of acute prescriptions), nasal (0.20%), rectal (0.07%) and subcutaneous (0.27%)
eIncludes zolmitriptan oral (1.6% of acute prescriptions) and nasal (1.0%)
fAlso includes metoclopramide (intravenous: 0.33% of emergency prescriptions)