Impact of Sumatriptan on Workplace Productivity, Nonwork Activities, and Health‐Related Quality of Life Among Hospital Employees With Migraine

Abstract

This prospective, open-label study evaluated the effects of subcutaneous sumatriptan versus usual therapy on workplace productivity, activity time outside of work, and health-related quality of life in 43 men or women who were hospital employees diagnosed with migraine according to international Headache Society criteria. Patients treated migraines with their usual therapy for 12 to 18 weeks followed by subcutaneous sumatriptan for 6 months. Health-related quality of life measurements obtained at baseline, after usual therapy, and after sumatriptan therapy included the Short Form-36 Health Survey and the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire. Patient daily diaries were used to capture data on migraine symptoms and on Lost Workplace Productivity and Non-workplace Activity Time. Traditional clinical efficacy measures were obtained to support the pharmacoeconomic data. Clinical data showed that the percentage of treated migraine days per patient on which the patient experienced relief (moderate or severe pain reduced to mild or none) was 75% with sumatriptan and 25% with usual therapy. The mean time to meaningful relief was 1.1 hours during the sumatriptan phase and 4.2 hours during the usual therapy phase. Lost Workplace Productivity and Nonworkplace Activity Time was 35% lower with sumatriptan therapy (1.5 hours) compared with usual therapy (2.3 hours). Time missed from work due to symptoms, time worked with symptoms, and time normal activities were carried on with symptoms were each lower during sumatriptan therapy compared with usual therapy. Scores on each of the three Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire dimensions and on the Role-Emotional dimension of the Short Form-36 were significantly more favorable after sumatriptan than after usual therapy (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that treatment of migraines with sumatriptan for 6 months following usual therapy for 12 to 18 weeks was associated with improvement in clinical efficacy, reduction in lost workplace productivity and nonworkplace activity time, and enhancement of key dimensions of health-related quality of life among employees of a large university hospital.

Sumatriptan Injection Reduces Productivity Loss During a Migraine Attack

“…Similarly, patients using open-label sumatriptan injection for up to 24 months reported missing fewer work days during sumatriptan therapy (mean, 1.4 days in the past 4 weeks) compared with baseline (presumatriptan) (mean, 2.5 days in the past 4 weeks). 14 The data from this placebo-controlled study also corroborate the results of 2 open-label studies 5,6 that used lost workplace productivity measures similar to those in the present trial. Mushet and colleagues 5 found that lost workplace productivity was 38% lower over a 6-month period in which 43 patients used sumatriptan injection (6 mg) to treat migraines compared with the preceding 12-to 18-week period during which patients used their usual (nonsumatriptan) therapy.…”

“…4 By relieving symptoms and reducing disability, an effective migraine therapy should counteract migraine-associated productivity loss. In fact, the 5-hydroxytryptamine-agonist sumatriptan succinate used for 6 months in each of 2 open-label studies 5,6 was associated with 30% to 38% reductions in lost workplace productivity compared with 2 to 4 months of patients' usual (nonsumatriptan) therapy. Although these data suggest that effective treatment of migraine with sumatriptan reduces productivity losses attributed to migraine, the open-label design of these studies does not allow unequivocal attribution of the reduction in lost workplace productivity to sumatriptan.…”

Effect of preventive treatment on health–related quality of life in episodic migraine

“…After six to nine months of follow-up, the comparison of the pretreatment and the follow-up SF-36 showed significant improvement of three domains of the questionnaire: bodily pain, social function and role functioning. Mushet et al [26] reported significant improvement of the score of the role emotional dimension of the Short Form-36 after sumatriptan compared to usual therapy. The results of this study showed that the majority of the domains of SF-36 (except for physical function and role emotional) improve with the intervention.…”

Prevalência e custos indiretos das cefaléias em uma empresa brasileira

“…Novas drogas desta família, mais eficientes e com menos efeitos colaterais, poderão em breve contribuir para melhorar estes índices. Mesmo o uso do sumatriptan, um medicamento comparativamente mais caro, mostrase compensador, tendo em vista a redução dos custos indiretos 33 . Em um levantamento entre 220 indivíduos que usaram sumatriptan injetável, cerca de 2/3 eram empregados em tempo integral.…”