[Is a migraine screener useful for pharmacists in community pharmacy to distinguish patients with migraine?]

Abstract

In this study, to clarify the characteristics of a migraine screener that would be useful to pharmacists in community pharmacies, we used the migraine screener to investigate patients with migraine. Diagnosis of migraine was made according to the internal classification of headache disorders 2nd edition (ICHD-II). Eighty patients with migraine (with aura: n=21, without aura: n=59) were divided into a positive group (n=51, 64%) and a negative group (n=29, 36%) based on the results of the migraine screener, which included a 4-item (headache exacerbation in daily performance, nausea, light-sensitivity and hypersensitivity to odors). The positive rate of the migraine screener was 64%. In the positive group, patients had moderate-to-severe migraine attacks in the past 3 months. Moreover, 82% of patients in the positive group reported disturbances in their daily of life due to headache. In the negative group, 41% of patients also reported disturbances in their daily of life. Therefore, pharmacists have to check the influence of headache on daily of life not only in the positive group but also in the negative group. These findings provide useful information to guide pharmacists in community pharmacies when using the screener for migraine to distinguish patients with headache from those with migraine.