Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018681 (headache)
 56,091 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Previous uncontrolled, nonrandomized trials suggest that magnesium sulfate (MgSO(4)) is effective in the treatment of headache. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of MgSO(4) vs. prochlorperazine in emergency department (ED) patients with acute headache. Patients presenting to the ED with a chief complaint of headache who met study criteria were enrolled. Each patient rated pain on a visual analog scale before and 30 min after a randomized study drug infusion. Thirty-six similar patients were enrolled. There was complete or partial pain relief in 90% of the prochlorperazine group and 56% of the MgSO(4) group, a statistically significant difference. Prochlorperazine caused significantly fewer side effects, and none of the patients required additional medication during the study period. It was determined that intravenous prochlorperazine is highly effective in the treatment of headache and magnesium is moderately effective. Response to MgSO(4) was unrelated to serum Mg level.
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PMID:A prospective study of i.v. magnesium and i.v. prochlorperazine in the treatment of headaches. 1072 68

Prochlorperazine (Compazine, PCZ) is a frequently used medication in the emergency department (ED). Akathisia and dystonia are known adverse reactions to the use of this medication, but their incidence in the ED has not been well studied. We conducted a prospective, descriptive study to evaluate the frequency of akathisia and dystonia in the ED from the use of IV or IM PCZ in patients with nausea/vomiting or headache. Two hundred-twenty nine patients (> or =18 years old) were enrolled and contacted within 2 weeks of ED discharge to access the incidence of these adverse reactions. After the use of PCZ in the ED, 16% of patients developed akathisia and 4% developed dystonia. Emergency physicians and our patients need to be aware of these potential adverse reactions to the use of PCZ in the ED.
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PMID:Frequency of adverse reactions to prochlorperazine in the ED. 1123 74

Headache is a very common medical complaint. Four to six percent of the population will have a debilitating headache in their lifetime; and 1-2% of all Emergency Department (ED) visits involve patients with headaches. Although promethazine is used frequently, it has never been studied as a single-agent treatment in undifferentiated headache. We hypothesized that promethazine would be superior to prochlorperazine in the treatment of headache. We conducted a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial on patients presenting to our ED between May and August 2005 with a chief complaint of headache. Each subject was randomized to receive either intravenous promethazine 25 mg or prochlorperazine 10 mg, and graded the intensity of their headache on serial 100-mm visual analog scales (VAS). Patients with dystonic reactions or akathesia were treated with diphenhydramine. Adequate pain relief was defined as an absolute decrease in VAS score of 25 mm. After discharge from the ED, patients were queried regarding the recurrence of headache symptoms, the need for additional pain medications, and the occurrence of any side effects since discharge. Thirty-five patients were enrolled in each group. Both drugs were shown to be effective in treatment of headaches. Prochlorperazine provided a faster rate of pain resolution and less drowsiness when compared to promethazine. Both medications were individually effective as abortive therapy for headache. Prochlorperazine was superior to promethazine in the rate of headache reduction and rate of home drowsiness, with similar rates of akathesia, nausea resolution, patient satisfaction, and headache recurrence within 5 days of discharge.
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PMID:Prochlorperazine vs. promethazine for headache treatment in the emergency department: a randomized controlled trial. 1853 8