<p>Treatment patterns in patients using triptan and prophylactic medication: an analysis of clinical practice prior to the introduction of CGRP antagonists</p>

Abstract

Purpose The newly developed calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonists were recently launched on the US and European market, with Switzerland as the second country worldwide. To enable forthcoming comparisons with established migraine therapy, the aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of migraine (prophylactic) treatment patterns. Recent data in daily clinical practice are lacking. Patients and methods This population-based cohort study included enrollees from a Swiss Healthcare Insurance Database with at least one triptan prescription in 2015. Treatment patterns were defined by assessing subsequent triptan and prophylactic medication use (after index prescription for triptan) within the following year, divided into four quarters. Results Triptans were used by 10,090 patients (1.3%) in 2015. Most of them used triptan only (82.6%), 12.9% changed the treatment between triptan and prophylactics, and 4.5% received both in combination within 1year. Among triptan users with ≥1 prophylactic prescription in the first quarter, 48.6% used beta-blockers (BB), 40.7% “other prophylactics than BB (eg, topiramate)”, and 10.7% “a combination of both”. Most patients who received both BB and other prophylactics in the first quarter used this drug combination continuously over all four quarters. Conclusion This study provides comprehensive data on treatment patterns prior to the introduction of a new drug class in migraine therapy. The majority of triptan users had no prophylactic medication therapy; however, a small, but relevant group used BB and other prophylactics concurrently in all quarters. Findings quantify the population in potential need for optimized migraine therapy, ie, the potential target population of the novel CGRP-targeted drugs.

Treatment Patterns for and Characteristics of Headache in Children and Adolescents Aged 6–17 Years in Japan: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of Health Insurance Claims Data

“…Recently, data-based research has been published on National Health Insurance claims using numerous data sets from adults with headaches [23][24][25][26][27][28]. However, few of these studies have been conducted in Japan [29][30][31].…”

Prevalence and Burden of Migraine in Switzerland: Cross-Sectional Study in ten Specialised Headache Centres from the BECOME Study

“…Multiple studies have established the high burden of migraine on QoL in patients unsuccessful with prior preventive therapies, either due to a lack of efficacy and/or tolerability [6,7,9,10]. Furthermore, in Europe, patients with migraine often consult general or primary care physicians rather than specialists [6,7,11], despite high prevalence of prior preventive treatment failures (PPTFs) [12][13][14][15].…”