Time lost due to an attack – a novel patient-reported outcome measure for acute migraine treatments. (August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pohl, Heiko; Benemei, Silvia; Garcia-Azorin, David; Dixon, Joanna; Huzzey, Elizabeth; Ferrari, Michel D
• Is Part Of: Cephalalgia. Volume 41:Number 9(2021)
• Page Start: 1027
• Page End: 1032
• Publication Date: 2021-08
• Subjects: Headache -- clinical trial -- endpoint -- disability -- functioning; Headache -- Periodicals; 616.8491
• DOI: 10.1177/03331024211006048
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0333-1024

Abstract

Objective: We propose a new outcome measure to assess the efficacy of migraine treatments translating the approach of the Global Burden of Disease studies from a societal to an individual level: Instead of calculating "years lived with disability", we suggest estimating "time lost due to an attack". Methods: Time lost due to an attack is calculated by multiplying the duration and the degree of impaired functioning during an attack. Results: Time lost due to an attack, different from other outcome measures, does not just focus on the short-term analgesic effects of treatments, but rather on the improvement of all migraine symptoms and restoration of functioning, also considering therapy-related impairment. Importantly, time lost due to an attack measures the entire time patients are not functioning normally, from onset to complete resolution. Conclusions: Time lost due to an attack represents a new paradigm to assess migraine burden in single patients for a patient-centered evaluation of both acute and prophylactic treatments.