French guidelines for the diagnosis and management of migraine in adults and children

Abstract

Background: The French Recommendations for Clinical Practice: Diagnosis and Therapy of Migraine are guidelines concerning the overall management of patients with migraine, including diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and assessment of disability.

Objective: This article summarizes the guidelines as they apply to adults and children, and proposes future direction for steps toward optimal treatment of migraine in patients in France.

Methods: The recommendations were categorized into 3 levels of proof (A-C) according to the National Agency for Accreditation and Evaluation in Health (ANAES) methodology and were based on a professional consensus reached among members of the Working Group and the Guidelines Review Group of the ANAES.

Results: The International Headache Society diagnostic criteria for migraine should be used in routine clinical practice. Recommended agents for the treatment of migraine in adults include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) monotherapy or in combination with metoclopramide, acetaminophen monotherapy, triptans, ergotamine tartrate, and dihydroergotamine mesylate. Patients should use the medication as early as possible after the onset of migraine headache. For migraine prophylaxis in adults, the following can be used: propranolol, metoprolol, oxetorone, or amitriptyline as first-line treatment, and pizotifen, flunarizine, valproate sodium, or topiramate as second-line treatment. Migraine in children can be distinguished from that in adults by shorter duration (2-48 hours in children aged <15 years), more frequent bilateral localization, frequent predominant gastrointestinal disturbances, and frequent pallor hailing the onset of the attack. The following drugs are recommended in children and adolescents: ibuprofen in children aged >6 months, diclofenac in children weighing >16 kg, naproxen in children aged >6 years or weighing >25 kg, ASA alone or in combination with metoclopramide, acetaminophen alone or in combination with metoclopramide, and ergotamine tartrate in children aged >10 years.

Conclusions: These guidelines are intended to help general practitioners to manage migraine patients according to the rules of evidence-based medicine.