Opioids and Migraine: Opioid Awareness and Frequency of Use among Turkish Migraineurs

Abstract

Despite the inadequate evidence of effi cacy and safety of opioid use for the treatment of migraine, it has been reported that patients with moderate to severe migraine headaches are prescribed opioids. Migraineurs may experience serious health impacts from opioids such as headache-related disability, psychiatric and cardiovascular comorbidities. The reduction of the risk of opioid abuse and prevention of an opioid epidemic are important public health challenges. The aim of this study was to assess the awareness of opioid therapy for migraine and the frequency of use among Turkish patients with episodic and chronic migraine. Materials and methods: consecutive migraine patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and used by the researchers to assess the patients’ awareness of an opiod treatment option and the frequency of use of opioids for migraine treatment. Results. One hundred two patients were enrolled, of which 72 had episodic migraine and 30 had chronic migraine. All subjects reported that they had not been offered or prescribed any kind of opioids by general practitioners and neurologists for their headache. Besides, only 7 % of patients declared that they had heard of opioid treatment for migraine but they had never consulted their doctors about its effects. Conclusions. Our fi ndings demonstrated that opioids were not preferred as an option for acute or preventive migraine treatment by Turkish migraineurs and their physicians. The reduction of opioid prescription will help to prevent the development of medication overuse and opiate-induced headaches and drug addiction.