Beyond pain control: Outcome and treatment preferences in pediatric migraine

Exploring the emotional impact of pain on children and adolescents: A poetic meta-ethnography

Pain in early life can go unreported and untreated. We use poems to portray findings from a systematic review of qualitative research. The overall aim of the review was to distil essential experiences across pain conditions and contexts. This report, focusing on the emotional impact of pain, is one of a series of three analyses from one systematic review of qualitative research. We used meta-ethnography to synthesise research. We identified studies in English that explored acute and/or chronic child and/or adolescent pain experience. Findings were distilled into themes and poems co-created in English and Spanish. We included 189 reports (177 unique studies) incorporating 5875 people (at least 3484 reported as female). Most studies (93%) included participants aged 11-20 years (range 2-38). The studies explored acute (24% studies), chronic (75%), and acute/chronic (1%). We report seven themes: (1) Pain can be hard to bear; (2) Pain is scary; (3) Pain is constantly at the back of my mind: (4) Pain makes me feel like I am outside alone; (5) Pain makes school a hard fit; (6) Pain can hurt me deep inside; (7) Pain has changed me. Our themes highlight the emotional impact of pain across conditions and contexts. Art and science are both integral to leaps in understanding. The contribution of the Arts is their unique ability to reach audiences on an affective level, giving the potential to underpin compassionate care and policy. We invite readers to utilise these poems to start a conversation about young people's pain experiences. This systematic review was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42023429027). Ethical permissions are not required for an evidence synthesis. PERSPECTIVE: The voices of young people in pain are not always heard. This article presents themes, in poetic form, from a synthesis of 189 qualitative studies. Science and art are integral to leaps in understanding and inclusive arts-based research methods have the potential to underpin compassionate pain care for young people.

Long-term reductions in acute headache medication use after eptinezumab treatment in patients with migraine and prior preventive treatment failures: Post hoc analysis of the DELIVER randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate long-term reductions in acute headache medication (AHM) use with eptinezumab versus placebo in patients with prior preventive migraine treatment failures and medication overuse (MO).

BACKGROUND

Preventive migraine treatment is recommended for patients for whom AHMs have failed and for those who are using excessive amounts of AHM. MO may worsen headache and migraine symptoms in people with migraine; it is a risk factor for disease chronification and/or MO headache.

METHODS

DELIVER was a multicenter, parallel-group, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3b clinical trial that randomized adults with migraine and two to four prior preventive failures to eptinezumab 100 mg, 300 mg, or placebo infusion every 12 weeks; patients initially given placebo received eptinezumab 100 mg or 300 mg in the extension period. MO was defined according to diagnostic criteria for MO headache in the baseline diary reports. This post hoc analysis of the DELIVER study included change from baseline in AHM days/month of use (ergotamines, triptans, simple or combination analgesics, and opioids; total and select class-specific use) in the MO population.

RESULTS

A total of 890 patients were included in the total population, and 438/890 (49.2%) had MO at baseline. In both the total population and MO population, eptinezumab resulted in greater reductions in total AHM days/month of use during weeks 1-24 than placebo, with triptans showing the largest reduction among AHM classes. Patients switching from placebo to eptinezumab experienced reductions in AHM days/month similar to that of initial eptinezumab treatment. In the extension population, mean (standard error [SE]) changes from baseline in AHM days/month were -4.6 (0.32; 100 mg) and -4.8 (0.32; 300 mg) across weeks 1-4 in patients who received eptinezumab for the entire treatment period and were -4.8 (0.44; placebo-100 mg) and -5.5 (0.44; placebo-300 mg) across weeks 25-28 in patients who switched from placebo to eptinezumab. Mean (SE) changes from baseline in AHM days/month in the extension MO population were -6.5 (0.59; 100 mg) and -6.6 (0.57; 300 mg) across weeks 1-4 in patients who received eptinezumab for the entire treatment period and were -7.1 (0.81; 100 mg) and -8.0 (0.80; 300 mg) across weeks 25-28 in patients who were switched from placebo to eptinezumab. All treatment arms sustained or further reduced AHM use across 18 months of trial participation. Across weeks 1-4, in patients fulfilling criteria for MO at baseline, 68.0% (102/150) of patients treated with eptinezumab 100 mg and 74.7% (109/146) of patients treated with eptinezumab 300 mg reported AHM use below MO thresholds compared to 43.3% (61/141) of patients receiving placebo. In patients with MO at baseline, the proportion of patients without MO remained above 60.0% for all treatment groups during the extension period.

CONCLUSIONS

Eptinezumab reduced total AHM use more than placebo in patients with prior preventive failures and in patients with MO at baseline; largest reductions were observed for triptans. Robust reductions in AHM use after eptinezumab were sustained or further reduced with up to 18 months of treatment, and most patients no longer met thresholds for MO.

Cluster Analysis of Migraine-associated Symptoms (CAMS) in youth: A retrospective cross-sectional multicenter study

OBJECTIVE

To conduct a retrospective cross-sectional multicenter study to validate the relationships between migraine-associated symptoms.

BACKGROUND

Symptoms associated with headache-photophobia and phonophobia, nausea, and/or vomiting-are required criteria for migraine diagnosis based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders-Third Edition (ICHD-3). However, individuals with migraine report high rates of other symptoms (e.g., lightheadedness, difficulty thinking). We recently completed a single-center study assessing the relationships between an expanded set of migraine-associated symptoms.

METHODS

A pre-registered cross-sectional multicenter retrospective analysis was conducted on standardized questionnaire data of youth ages 6-17 years from two headache registries at pediatric tertiary care centers. Cluster Analysis of Migraine-associated Symptoms (CAMS) was implemented to assess associations between 11 migraine-associated symptoms. We explored differences between the two centers, and how CAMS was associated with demographics, including sex and age, and headache burden.

RESULTS

There were 10,721 participants who were 66.5% female and had a median (interquartile range) age of 13 (10-15) years. The first three CAMS dimensions accounted for 46.5% of the variance and were consistent across sites. The first dimension indicated those reporting any migraine-associated symptoms were likely to report multiple. The second dimension separated symptoms into those included in ICHD-3 migraine diagnostic criteria and non-ICHD symptoms (e.g., lightheadedness, difficulty thinking). The third dimension separated sensory hypersensitivity and vestibular symptoms. An abundance of migraine-associated symptoms correlated with greater headache severity (Spearman's ρ = 0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.17-0.20; small effect size) and disability (ρ = 0.26, 95% CI 0.25-0.28; small effect size). We also observed differences in associated symptoms across age and sex.

DISCUSSION

Associations between an expanded set of migraine-associated symptoms are informative for headache burden and reveal intriguing changes across child development and sex. We were able to replicate findings across two centers, indicating that these symptom clusters are inherent to migraine.

Evaluating patient and family preferences for acute and preventive pediatric headache treatment

OBJECTIVE

To describe acute and preventive treatment preferences among youth with migraine and their parents/guardians, and to describe the degree of youth-parent/guardian preference agreement.

BACKGROUND

Headache disorders are common in youth, but little is known about patient and family preferences for headache treatments and outcomes.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional survey, a headache treatment preferences questionnaire was co-created with stakeholders, piloted, and distributed to consenting youth with migraine aged 9-18 years and parents/guardians at a tertiary care headache clinic in western Canada. Response data were summarized for youth and parents/guardians separately, and agreement rates within a youth-parent/guardian pair were compared to a hypothesized agreement rate of 80% for the primary questionnaire items.

RESULTS

Seventy-two youth and n = 94 parents/guardians participated, with n = 63 in youth-parent/guardian pairs. Freedom from pain and rapid relief, and reducing pain severity and headache frequency were top acute and preventive treatment priorities, respectively. More than 90% (69/72) agreed that ≥ 50% reduction in headache frequency was a good target. For both acute and preventive interventions, swallowed pill-based options were most often selected as the preferred first-line treatment, with neuromodulation selected as the preferred second-line treatment. The level of agreement within youth-parent/guardian pairs on preferred treatment modalities was lower than hypothesized for acute (63% [40/63], 95% confidence interval [CI] = 52-75%, χ2 = 10.73, p = 0.001) but not for preventive treatment (73% [46/63], 95% CI = 62-84%, χ2 = 1.92, p = 0.166). Regarding which treatment modalities were perceived as most effective, youth-parent agreement was lower than hypothesized for both acute (48% [30/63], 95% CI = 35-60%, χ2 = 41.29, p < 0.001) and preventive treatment (46% [29/63], 95% CI = 34-58%, χ2 = 45.43, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Youth and family preferences aligned qualitatively, but sometimes diverged quantitatively, from typical clinical trial outcomes. The level of agreement within youth-parent/guardian pairs on treatment preferences and perceptions was low. Clinicians should consider both perspectives as they may be divergent.

More Than a Headache: Lived Experience of Migraine in Youth

BACKGROUND

Migraine is the leading cause of disability among adolescents and young adults. We aimed to characterize the impact of migraine on the experience of children, adolescents, and caregivers.

METHODS

This descriptive qualitative study recruited youth aged four to 18 years with migraine and their caregivers from the multicenter, prospective Pediatric Migraine Registry between 2020 and 2021. Participants completed semistructured interviews targeting the lived experience of migraine. A conventional content analysis approach was used to analyze data.

RESULTS

Thirty enrolled dyads (n = 30 children and adolescents, n = 29 caregivers) completed 59 interviews (n = 29 child and adolescent interviews, n = 30 caregiver interviews). Children and adolescents had a median age of 15 years and experienced a median of 13.5 headache days per month. Caregivers had a median age of 44 years and predominantly identified as mothers (n = 28). We identified three themes: (1) Impact on emotional well-being: participants described how their migraine experience included feelings of isolation, depression, and irritability alongside the need for social support; (2) Impact on daily life: participants described how symptoms and unpredictability impacted their ability to perform activities of daily living; and (3) Impact on school: participants described how migraine impacted their school experience, including threatened attendance and worsened performance.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort of youth and their caregivers, we identified salient themes to characterize the experience of migraine. Our findings underscore the urgent need for effective migraine treatments and interventions targeting co-occurring mental health conditions, peer relationships, and school support.