ACP Issues Clinical Guideline for Pharmacologic Treatment of Acute Episodic Migraine
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, March 21, 2025 -- In a clinical guideline issued by the American College of Physicians (ACP) and published online March 18 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, recommendations are presented for the pharmacologic treatment of acute episodic migraine headache in the outpatient setting.
Amir Qaseem, M.D., Ph.D., from the ACP in Philadelphia, and colleagues examined the comparative benefits and harms of pharmacologic treatments of acute episodic migraine headache, patients' values and preferences, and economic evidence relating to the treatments. The guidelines were designed for physicians and other clinicians and related to adults with acute episodic migraine headache (defined as one to 14 headache days per month) managed in outpatient settings.
The authors presented two recommendations. For nonpregnant adults who do not respond adequately to a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ACP recommends the addition of a triptan to treat moderate-to-severe acute episodic migraine headache in outpatient settings (strong recommendation; moderate-certainty evidence). For nonpregnant adults who do not respond adequately to acetaminophen, ACP suggests that clinicians add a triptan to treat moderate-to-severe acute episodic migraine headache in outpatient settings (conditional recommendation; low-certainty evidence).
"There is a critical need for funding agencies, such as the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute or National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to support well-designed, comparative effectiveness trials of newer medications to treat moderate-to-severe episodic migraine compared with the combination of a triptan and an NSAID or acetaminophen," the authors write.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted March 2025
Read this next
2,770 Cases of Arboviral Disease Reported in 48 States and D.C. in 2023
TUESDAY, June 17, 2025 -- In 2023, 48 states and the District of Columbia reported 2,770 human arboviral disease cases, with West Nile Virus (WNV) being the most common, according...
New Model Developed for Identifying DVT in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
TUESDAY, June 17, 2025 -- A model with eight independent risk factors can predict the risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC)...
Electronic Nudge Letters Do Not Improve Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy in CKD
TUESDAY, June 17, 2025 -- Neither delivery of electronic nudge letters nor letters to general practice increase uptake of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) among patients...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.