Low-dose Propofol for Pediatric Migraine

There has been little advancement in abortive migraine therapies in recent decades, and few proven treatments exist for acute migraine, particularly in children. Propofol, a general anesthetic, has been suggested to be effective for the treatment of migraine headaches in adults when used in subanesthetic doses (lower doses than those used for anesthesia or sedation). Initial retrospective review of the investigators experience with propofol for migraine in children suggests that it is safe and may be more effective than standard treatments used in the emergency department. The investigators retrospective series had a small subject population and a larger study is needed to compare propofol to current available treatments.

All subjects presenting to the pediatric emergency department with signs/symptoms of migraine headache will be screened for the study. Subjects who are eligible will be provided information about the study and consent/assent forms from a member of the research team, and asked whether they are interested in participating.

All study subjects will receive acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin) for their headache if they have not already tried these first-line treatments at home; those with persistent symptoms requiring further treatment who consent to participate in the study will be randomized to receive either standard treatment or propofol. Standard treatment currently consists of a "cocktail" of medications that include anti-nausea medicines (metoclopramide and diphenhydramine) and an analgesic (ketorolac) as well as intravenous fluids. Subjects assigned to the experimental group (Propofol) will receive the same intravenous fluids and up to five doses of propofol. All subjects will undergo assessment of their pain (self-rated on a scale from 0-10) before and after treatment. During treatment they will have close monitoring of their vital signs. No additional laboratory tests or procedures are involved. Post-visit clinical data will be collected from the subject's medical record and subjects will be called by telephone 24-48 hours after discharge from the emergency department to ask how they are doing and whether they required any additional treatments such as home medications or by other medical professionals other than OHSU.

The study data will be presented in summary tables that outline subjects' clinical presentation prior to treatments, and response to study drug during their visit. The main variables of interest include effectiveness (determined as a reduction in self-reported pain score), length of stay in the pediatric emergency department, recurrent headache requiring emergency treatment within 24 hours and whether any adverse effects occur. These will be compared between the 2 study groups with basic statistics.