Inpatient Pediatric Migraine Treatment: Does Choice of Abortive Therapy Affect Length of Stay?

Objective To describe the inpatient management of pediatric migraine and the association between specific medications and hospital length of stay (LOS). Study design Historical cohort study review of patients age <19 years of age admitted to a single tertiary care children's hospital between 2010 and 2015 for treatment of migraine headache. Results The cohort consisted of 58 encounters with an average patient age of 14.3 years (SD 3.2 years) with a female predominance (62%). The mean number of inpatient medications received by patients was 3 (range 1-7), with dopamine antagonists and dihydroergotamine used most commonly (67% and 59% of encounters, respectively). The average LOS was 56 hours (95% CI 48.2-63.2) and did not vary by medication received, although patients who received an opioid had a significantly longer LOS (79.2 vs 47.9 hours respectively; P<.001). Conclusions Children admitted to the hospital for treatment of migraine headache frequently require a large number of medications over an average hospital LOS of more than 2 days without apparent differences based on medication received other than prolonged stays for subjects who received opioids.